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  • 25 July 2025
  • Type: Statement

  Ombudsman and Ombudsman for Children sign Memorandum of Understanding

  On Thursday 24 July 2025 the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, and the Office of the Ombudsman, Ger Deering, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further their shared commitment towards working together as effectively ...

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  • 23 July 2025
  • Type: Statement
  • Topic: Online

  OCO statement on new online safety measures

  The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) has welcomed the new online age verification and parental control rules for video sharing platform providers being rolled out for children this week as a ‘first step’ toward keeping children ...

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  • 27 June 2025
  • Type: Speech
  • Topic: Child Protection, Children in Care, Disability, Housing

  Oireachtas Committee on Children and Equality

  Opening Statement by the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon Thursday, 26th June 2025 I thank the Chair and the Committee for inviting us to discuss Tomorrow Starts with Us; The Ombudsman for Children’s Office 2024 Annual ...

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  • 25 June 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Housing

  Ombudsman for Children to call for Child and Family Homelessness strategy at Oireachtas Housing Committee hearing

  The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, will call for a child and family homelessness strategy to be put in place, with a focus on prevention, at a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and ...

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  • 22 May 2025

  1,772 complaints to OCO in 2024 highlights need for children’s rights to be fully incorporated into Irish law

  The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) continued to receive a high volume of complaints about children’s public services last year, with 1,772 contacts about complaints made to the Office. The OCO’s Annual Report for 2024 Tomorrow ...

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  • 30 April 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Youth Justice

  OCO successful in calls for Child Centred Justice in Irish courts as new measures brought in for child defendants

  Following engagement with the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO), the Department of Justice has introduced a new court accompaniment service for child defendants, which is being rolled out in over 100 youth diversion projects across the ...

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  • 9 April 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Health

  Latest HIQA report is yet another deeply distressing turn in the crisis around access to scoliosis surgery for children in Ireland

  Comment from Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon: “This latest HIQA report into the use of the unauthorised springs at Temple Street Children’s Hospital is yet another deeply distressing turn in the crisis around access to ...

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  • 1 April 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Child Protection

  Ombudsman for Children’s Office calls for introduction of Child Death Review Mechanism

  The Ombudsman for Children’s Office has today (Tuesday 1st, April) published Child Death Review; A Case for a National Child Death Review Mechanism for the Deaths of Children in Ireland. This report includes the stories of ...

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  • 11 March 2025
  • Type: Press Release
  • Topic: Education

  OCO partners on new AI project for young people and youth workers

  The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO), in partnership with Insight, Dublin City University (DCU), and the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), has launched a groundbreaking initiative to equip young people—especially those from marginalised backgrounds— and ...

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  • 20 February 2025
  • Type: Press Release

  Equal Footing: OCO highlights urgent need to regulate Home Care and Support Services for children

  The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) is calling on the new Minister for Health to take on board the recent recommendations of the Oireachtas Health Committee to include children in regulations being developed for providers of ...