Let’s Play Ireland is a government-led initiative aimed at promoting play for all children living in Ireland during the COVID-19 emergency.

The aim of the initiative is to highlight the importance of play for children, particularly in a time of crisis and to provide information and resources for families to support their children’s play. The initiative is by no means intended to create another pressure for parents, rather the opposite, it intends to provide positive messages to parents about just allowing their children to play and supporting a positive environment for this. The website will provide information on

• playing in a crisis,
• ideas for play,
• the right to play,
• playful families,
• screen time during the crisis and
• useful links and resources.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs, Participation, Play, Recreation and Culture Unit will be further developing specific themes over the course of the campaign which will run throughout May and beyond;

• Early Years
• Storytelling
• Play and Families
• Play and Creativity
• Play and Education
• Play and Well-Being

The initiative is available on https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/lets-play-ireland/ and on Twitter #letsplayireland.