About us

Our role and remit

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) is an independent human rights organisation established in 2004 under the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002.

The OCO has two main roles:

• to deal with complaints made by or for children and young people about the actions of public organisations. This service is free and independent; and 
• to promote the rights and welfare of children and young people under 18 living in Ireland.

We offer advice to government at early stages of policy and law development and throughout the legislative process. 

Ministers can request our advice on any matter relating to the rights and welfare of children. This is covered under section 7(4) of the OCO Act 2002. 

The OCO also highlights issues of concern in relation to children’s rights in Ireland.

As an independent statutory body, our Office is directly accountable to the Oireachtas for the exercise of its statutory functions under the 2002 Act.

Our Vision

All children in Ireland have their rights respected, protected and fulfilled in line with the UNCRC.

All children are aware of their rights and those rights are central to government decision making.

The OCO will use its powers so that all children reach their full potential.

Our Values

These are the things that drive us as a team and make us who we are:

• Respect – a commitment to show kindness and respect to everyone we engage with and to support a diverse, inclusive and equal workforce.
• Integrity –  a pledge to always operate with honesty and transparency
• Independence –  a commitment to  always cherish and protect our independence
• Courage – the openness to push hard for the rights of children
• Fairness – a promise to work at all times to be fair in all of our dealings with staff, children, complainants and public agencies.
• Fun/Joy – a determination to allow for and encourage fun within the work environment

OCO Strategic Plan 2025-2027: Our Path Forward

This strategy maps out our objectives over the next two years and is a response to a rapidly changing socio-political and economic landscape. 

It recognises the progress that has been made in relation to children’s rights, alongside the stagnation and regression in some areas. 

Our Path Forward sets out the ambitions of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office amid the backdrop of rising living costs, housing shortages, political shifts, and global uncertainty, all of which threaten children’s rights.

Our History

Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1992. In 1998, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that Ireland establish an independent body to address children’s rights violations. Following efforts by NGOs and children’s rights advocates to establish such an office, the Government committed to establishing an Ombudsman for Children.

The Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 was signed into law by the President in 2002 and came into force in April 2004, establishing the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) in Ireland. The Ombudsman for Children is independent of the Government and is accountable to the Oireachtas.

Emily Logan was appointed by the President as Ireland’s first Ombudsman for Children in March 2004. Dr Niall Muldoon is Ireland’s current Ombudsman for Children. Niall was appointed as Ombudsman for Children by President Michael D. Higgins in February 2015 and was appointed for a second 6-year term in February 2021.