There were 1,778 complaints about children\u2019s public services to the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) in 2025, with education (31%), Tusla (20%) and health services (14%) topping the list of concerns from the public. This is in line with last year\u2019s figures. The OCO\u2019s Annual Report for 2025, Children\u2019s Rights in the Balance<\/em>, details another extremely busy year across the Office, with complaints becoming more complex and 15% referring to more than one agency. Of the 1,552 individual complaints, 81% came from parents and 4% from children themselves. The OCO engaged with more than 2,500 children last year through our rights education workshops, school visits and outreach work around the country, including to IPAS and Direct Provision centres, CAMHS services and centres with unaccompanied children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2025 also saw a number of welcome improvements on key issues of concern continuously highlighted by the OCO. There was a commitment from Government to develop a dedicated Child and Family Homelessness Action Plan, which is essential to tackling the scourge of child and family homelessness; the introduction of support for child defendants in the courts, an issue we raised following our work with children at Oberstown Children\u2019s Detention Campus; and the inclusion of children in the regulatory framework for homecare support packages, which we know will make a huge difference to children with complex healthcare needs and their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commenting on the OCO\u2019s Annual Report for 2025, Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n