Baby boxes will be sent out to new parents as part of a pilot scheme from early next year, the department of children has confirmed.
The boxes, which have been introduced in Scotland in recent years, can act as a cot and includes clothes, small toys, toothbrushes and books to help the baby get through their early development.
A spokesman for Roderic O’Gorman, the children’s minister, said: “This action was delayed by the reassignment of personnel to the Covid-19 response. The preparation to advance the initiative is now proceeding with the first meeting of the project advisory group due to take place on December 13. It is envisaged that the pilot rollout will get underway early in 2022.”
The government has set aside €200,000 for the pilot scheme. The Scottish government has spent £8.8 million on the scheme in each of the last three years. About 52,000 boxes are given out a year in Scotland, which has a similar population to Ireland.
Baby boxes, a concept developed in Finland before the Second World War, have been criticised as a gimmick, and become a cause célèbre for those arguing over universalism compared to means-testing.
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Neale Richmond, a Fine Gael TD, who has supported the introduction of the scheme, insisted that they were not a waste of taxpayers money.
“Everyone needs this. When you are having a child, you don’t exactly know what you need. You may come from the best possible means, but the key thing is that the baby box makes sure everyone has exactly what they need, like the bath and ear thermometer,” he said. “But also information like how to spot signs of post-natal depression and how to stay in touch with the public health nurse.”
Richmond said he wanted to see “a bit more urgency” in implementing the scheme. “I would really like to see a full national rollout of this much quicker, to be honest.”
This year, Scottish ministers were asked to consider providing a reduced version of baby boxes for parents who are wealthy or already have children, after concerns were raised that their contents have been going to waste.
An independent report in August gave a glowing assessment of the SNP’s policy for helping newborns and their families on its fourth anniversary. It found overwhelming professional and parental support and appreciation for the boxes, which hold supplies for children and advice for mothers and fathers, and can serve as a sleeping space. However, the report, by Ipsos-Mori, also asked whether some parents needed all the items in the box, especially if the baby was not their first.
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“Is it worth exploring the scope to offer an alternative, reduced version of the box and/or its contents to parents who already have children, or who might not feel they need everything that comes with the box?,” it asked.
