News

Latest News

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  • 29 January 2026
  • Type: Statement
  • Topic: Online

  Opening Statement to the Joint Committee on Children and Equality Technology, Social Media and Children

  OPENING STATEMENT Ombudsman for Children’s Office Joint Committee on Children and Equality Technology, social media and children 29th January 2026   Chair and Members of the Committee, Thank you for the opportunity to address you today ...

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  • 22 January 2026
  • Type: Statement
  • Topic: Child Protection, Education, Health, Housing

  Opening statement: Joint Committee on Children and Equality Child Poverty and Deprivation

  Opening statement Ombudsman for Children’s Office Joint Committee on Children and Equality Child Poverty and Deprivation 22nd January 2026   Thank you to the Committee for inviting the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) to provide our ...

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  • 8 January 2026
  • Type: Statement

  OCO statement on Grok AI concerns

  The OCO is extremely concerned about these issues with Grok and is calling for immediate action to prevent these images being produced and to ensure that children’s rights are fully protected online. We will monitor the ...

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  • 3 December 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Disability, Education, Immigration, Online

  OCO Survey on Extremism, Discrimination and Gender Roles

  Discrimination, extremism and ‘traditional’ gender roles all on the radar for young people in new survey from the OCO   25% say their friends have views that some people would consider extreme 64% of students associate ...

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  • 20 November 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Housing, Immigration

  Housing, Immigration and Extremism – all issues children are talking about at Child Talks 2025 to mark World Children’s Day

  Over 1,000 schoolchildren from around Ireland will descend on the Helix in Dublin tomorrow (November 20th) for Child Talks 2025, the annual World Children’s Day event from the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO). Six young speakers ...

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  • 13 November 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Housing

  Children and families finally recognised in new Housing Plan – this must be a turning point says the Ombudsman for Children

  Statement from the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon: “The new Government Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities published today (Thursday 13th November) finally includes a commitment to develop a cross departmental and agency led Child and Family Homelessness ...

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  • 3 November 2025
  • Type: Statement
  • Topic: Immigration

  Ombudsman for Children statement on IPAS centre arson attack

  “It is unconscionable that children’s lives were put at risk during an arson attack at the weekend. The fact that this comes just a week after violent riots outside another location where children were living, indicates ...

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  • 21 October 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Online

  Audience attitudes to harmful and offensive media content are changing – new research from Coimisiún na Meán, IFCO and the Ombudsman for Children’s Office

  New research has highlighted Irish audiences’ evolving attitudes to harmful and offensive media content, with two-in-three adults (67%) reporting that they did not have concerns about seeing or hearing potentially harmful or offensive media content themselves. ...

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  • 14 October 2025
  • Type: Statement
  • Topic: Immigration

  Observations on the International Protection Bill 2025 – Joint Oireachtas Justice Committee Opening Statement

  Thank you to the Chairperson and the Committee for inviting the Ombudsman for Children’s Office here today to provide our observations on the General Scheme of the new International Protection Bill (General Scheme). The OCO is ...

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  • 8 October 2025
  • Type: Statement
  • Topic: Children in Care

  Budget 2026 

  Budget 2026  Budget 2026 is the first of the new Government.  So, what does it tell us about their commitments to children?  We take a look at some of the big-ticket items affecting children and their rights.     Children in Poverty  A ...