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Research on children’s rights

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office carries out and commissions research on important issues affecting children.

One of the strategic goals of the OCO is to build knowledge and carry out research on current and emerging issues that affect children, particularly vulnerable groups.

This research can involve:

  • Looking at reports and other evidence about the issues affecting children in Ireland.
  • Finding examples of how the rights of children are protected in other countries.
  • Listening to the views and experiences of children.
  • Listening to the views and experiences of parents/carers and professionals working with children.

This research helps us to understand whether children’s rights are being protected and we use the findings and the experiences shared by children, families and professionals in our work. It also encourages the Government and public bodies to work in a way that promotes the rights and welfare of children.

You can find all of our research publications in our online library.

Commissioned external research:

In 2021, in conjunction with the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway the OCO launched Mind The Gap, research into the barriers facing children with disabilities in Ireland. The research found that children with disabilities are often invisible, children with disabilities are not heard and children with disabilities do not count.

Digital Voices is a research project and report commissioned by the OCO and carried out by Technological University Dublin in 2023. It investigates how social and digital media can be mobilized to diversify and elevate how children's views are heard by public policymakers and decision-makers

In 2025, we commissioned a team of researchers in University College Cork, with support from BelongTo, to examine how the rights of LGBTQ+ youth are being met under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) by consulting directly with young people. We are very excited to see their research published in early 2027.

Our research area for 2027 will explore the rights and experiences of children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Ireland.

Young lives at risk:

The OCO is also currently conducting research in-house on children’s rights of Ireland’s most vulnerable children, to identify and address gaps in policy and services that this cohort of young people can often slip between, and thus miss out on the help they need.

This 12-month project commenced in November 2025, and will be due for publication late 2026.

You can read more about this project at : Young Lives at Risk Research Project