News

Latest News - Type: Press Release

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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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  • 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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  • 10 September 2025
  • Type: Press Release

  Cosc ar fhóin i scoileanna – léirítear le taighde nua OCO an fáth nach n-oireann an toise céanna do gach duine

  Foilseoidh Oifig an Ombudsman do Leanaí (OCO) Ní Oireann an Toise Céanna do Gach Duine – tuarascáil ar chosc ar fhóin i scoileanna agus ar chearta leanaí i gcomhar le Painéal Comhairleach na nÓige (YAP) de ...

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  • 10 September 2025
  • Type: Press Release

  Phone bans in schools- new OCO research shows why one size doesn’t fit all

  The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) published One Size Does Not Fit All– a report on phone bans in schools and children’s rights with the OCO’s Youth Advisory Panel (YAP). As well as presenting the views ...

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  • 14 August 2025
  • Type: Press Release

  Children’s rights overlooked during the pandemic – Ombudsman for Children tells Independent Pandemic Evaluation Panel

  The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, has today told the Independent Pandemic Evaluation Panel that children suffered disproportionately as a result of Covid measures implemented by the State during the pandemic, with their rights often ...

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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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  • 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 ...