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Children's ombudsman repeats UN treaty call

The Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon has called for the “full and direct” incorporation of a UN treaty on children’s rights into Irish law.

Speaking as the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) published its annual report for 2024, Dr Muldoon said that incorporation was “the most important thing we can do to protect and safeguard the rights of all children in Ireland”.

He said that the office would be “ramping up” its campaign this year to have the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) fully incorporated into Irish law.

“Every issue we highlight in our annual report leads us back to the need to give real force to the international obligations we have already signed up to,” Dr Muldoon added.

Ireland ratified the treaty in 1992.

Complaints ‘more complex’

The report shows that the OCO received 1,772 contacts last year about complaints made to the office. The figure was in line with 2023.

The office said that the complaints were becoming “more complex”, with almost one in five relating to more than one agency, and one-third relating to multiple categories of concern.

Education remains the most complained about issue to the OCO at 33%, followed by Tusla (19%) and complaints about children’s health services (15%) – including a lack of access to an assessment of need.

Writing in the report, Dr Muldoon described himself as “exasperated and utterly dismayed” by the year -on-year rise in the number of families in emergency accommodation, and the fact there were more than 4,500 children availing of homeless services at the end of 2024.

The annual report marks the 20th year since the OCO was established in 2004