{"id":5114,"date":"2021-06-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/?p=5114"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:34:55","slug":"press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"\/*padding:56.25% 0 0 0;*\/ position:relative;\"><div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/563721569?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" title=\"OCO Annual Report 16_06_21_LIVESTREAM ON DEMAND.mov\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script>\n\n\nThe Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) today (Wednesday, June 16<sup>th<\/sup>) is publishing 2020 Childhood Paused, its Annual Report for 2020.\n\nComplaints to the Ombudsman for Children remained high in 2020 despite the pandemic, however fewer complaints were made than in 2019.\n\nThe OCO received 1,187 complaints in 2020 \u2013 316 fewer than 2019, as many services were closed. The OCO expects the number of complaints to increase in 2021 as new issues emerge.\n\nIn 2020 6% of the complaints made to the OCO came directly from children, this is an increase from 3% in 2019. This increase can largely be attributed to those who contacted us in relation to education issues and is an indication of the level of upset among students. 100% of the children who contacted the OCO mentioned the impact of the pandemic on their mental health of children.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nOnce again, the main area of the public service people complained about in 2020 was education \u2013 making up 46% of complaints. In 2019 49% of complaints were about education.\n\nNew issues that came up in 2020 included:\n<ul>\n \t<li>Remote learning and the digital divide<\/li>\n \t<li>Lack of clarity about State examinations<\/li>\n \t<li>Mental impact on young people<\/li>\n \t<li>Calculated grades<\/li>\n \t<li>Children in high risk households who feared bringing Covid-19 home<\/li>\n \t<li>Impact on children with special educational needs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n&nbsp;\n\nThe OCO was in continuous contact with the Minister for Education and the Department of Education during 2020 putting forward the concerns of students and their families. The OCO engaged robustly, challenging suggested plans and putting forward possible solutions on behalf of children. The OCO consistently stressed the adverse effect that this very stressful time was having on children\u2019s mental health.\n\nSpeaking ahead of the launch the Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, said there can be no return to \u201cnormal\u201d for children after the pandemic.\n\n\u201cWhile this is my sixth annual report as the Ombudsman for Children, the report for 2020 is one like no other in terms of the new issues that emerged and the number of children complaining to us directly.\u201d\n\n\u201c2020 was a devastating year for children. We heard heart-breaking stories of children with additional needs regressing and about the turmoil the uncertainty caused. Children were grappling with the digital divide and they worried about parents who had lost their jobs as the pandemic wreaked havoc on the economy.\u201d\n\n\u201cMore children contacted the Office themselves to complain about issues last year which is positive and down to our outreach but it also shows how the voice of the child was not being heard by Government and decision makers.\u201d\n\n\u201cMany children with parents or siblings who were medically high risk, wrote to us expressing their fears of causing the death of that parent or sibling. Many were facing into their exam years and had been told by their schools there was nothing they could do to help them if they decided to self isolate because of a family member.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe believe firmly in keeping the voice of the child to the fore and I was delighted the Department of Children was retained rather than subsumed last year, however its status or retention should have never been up for discussion.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is important that we hear and see young people so I am delighted to be launching the report in a St Mary\u2019s Holy Faith School in Killester. I will be joined by students who will tell us about the impact the pandemic has had on young people and they will share their views on what we can learn from the past 16 months.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhile we were all told to stay at home, it is not always a safe place, and we fear that children who were at risk of abuse or neglect and other issues that went under the radar due to school closures will come to the fore this year.\u201d\n\n\u201cLooking ahead, I have spoken of the need for a Covid dividend for children. There can be no return to the old normal\u00a0 &#8211; where babies learn to crawl in emergency accommodation, teenagers in severe physical pain wait years for scoliosis operations or those in mental turmoil wait years for psychological intervention and where Traveller children are bullied for where they live. That is not the normal we should accept any longer.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe pandemic has shown the need for proper investment to bridge the inequality gap and ensure all children are given the support they need to thrive.\n\n\u201cThis is a once in a generation opportunity to reflect on the huge learnings since the pandemic started and recognise how much we can do when we focus on what can be done instead of what can not. We must build upon the momentum and transformative change that was the hallmark of the pandemic and use this energy to ensure no child is left behind.\u201d\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Note to Editors<\/strong>\n\n2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report will be available on www.oco.ie from 6am Wednesday June 16th.\n\nInvitations to the launch have been circulated in advance to the media to ensure adherence to Covid-19 guidelines and social distancing.\n\nMaxwells photography will send photos to picture desks at midday on Wednesday June 16<sup>th<\/sup>.\n\n<strong>Where we received the most complaints from: <\/strong>\n\nDublin 30%\n\nCork 14%\n\nKildare 5%\n\n<strong>Where we received the lowest number of complaints <\/strong>\n\nLongford 0.5%\n\nLaois\u00a0 1%\n\nCarlow 1%\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Childhood Paused \u2013 Annual Report 2020 includes the following case studies and issues we worked on during 2020<\/strong>\n\n&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remote learning and the digital divide \u2013 P.16\n\n&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Children living in very high risk households \u2013 P.17\n\n&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Calculated grades \u2013 P.19\n\n&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Reduced timetables the only option for child with autism \u2013 P.19\n\n&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Homecare support for boy with complex health needs\u00a0 &#8211; P.23\n\n&#8211;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Direct Division \u2013 Life in Direct Provision during lockdown \u2013 P.26\n<ul>\n \t<li>The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office is an independent statutory body with an overall mandate to promote the rights and welfare of children under the age of 18 living in Ireland.<\/li>\n \t<li>Among the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s core statutory functions is the independent and impartial investigation of complaints made by, or on behalf of, children in relation to public bodies, as well as organisations providing services on behalf of the State.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) today (Wednesday, June 16th) is publishing 2020 Childhood Paused, its Annual Report for 2020. Complaints to the Ombudsman for Children remained high in 2020 despite the pandemic, however fewer complaints <a class=\"read_more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/\">&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":18310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","type-press-release","topic-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report - Ombudsman for Children<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report - Ombudsman for Children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) today (Wednesday, June 16th) is publishing 2020 Childhood Paused, its Annual Report for 2020. Complaints to the Ombudsman for Children remained high in 2020 despite the pandemic, however fewer complaints ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ombudsman for Children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OCOIreland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-06-15T23:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T12:34:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1308\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1134\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Padraig Foran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OCO_ireland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OCO_ireland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Padraig Foran\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Padraig Foran\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a35c06b51ef7c3cdd2a65c9afe3d5b2e\"},\"headline\":\"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-15T23:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-10T12:34:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1011,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ar2020.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/\",\"name\":\"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report - Ombudsman for Children\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ar2020.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-06-15T23:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-10T12:34:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ar2020.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ar2020.png\",\"width\":1308,\"height\":1134},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/news\\\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Baile\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/ga\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ombudsman for Children\",\"description\":\"The OCO investigates complaints about services provided to children by public organisations. The service is free and independent.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/oco.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oco.ie\\\/app\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/oco.png\",\"width\":228,\"height\":78,\"caption\":\"The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/OCOIreland\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/OCO_ireland\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/ombudsmanforchildren\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/OCOIreland\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/preprod.oco.ie\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a35c06b51ef7c3cdd2a65c9afe3d5b2e\",\"name\":\"Padraig Foran\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"ga-IE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95919b15397c5874edbfcd2956fd11ba92f0c1ea67df40f470e6f664c488e1f6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95919b15397c5874edbfcd2956fd11ba92f0c1ea67df40f470e6f664c488e1f6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/95919b15397c5874edbfcd2956fd11ba92f0c1ea67df40f470e6f664c488e1f6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Padraig Foran\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report - Ombudsman for Children","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/","og_locale":"ga_IE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report - Ombudsman for Children","og_description":"The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) today (Wednesday, June 16th) is publishing 2020 Childhood Paused, its Annual Report for 2020. Complaints to the Ombudsman for Children remained high in 2020 despite the pandemic, however fewer complaints ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/","og_site_name":"Ombudsman for Children","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OCOIreland\/","article_published_time":"2021-06-15T23:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-10T12:34:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1308,"height":1134,"url":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Padraig Foran","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@OCO_ireland","twitter_site":"@OCO_ireland","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Padraig Foran","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/"},"author":{"name":"Padraig Foran","@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/a35c06b51ef7c3cdd2a65c9afe3d5b2e"},"headline":"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report","datePublished":"2021-06-15T23:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-10T12:34:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/"},"wordCount":1011,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png","inLanguage":"ga-IE"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/","url":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/","name":"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report - Ombudsman for Children","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png","datePublished":"2021-06-15T23:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-10T12:34:55+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"ga-IE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ga-IE","@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png","width":1308,"height":1134},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/press-release-the-ombudsman-for-children-publishes-2020-childhood-paused-annual-report\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Baile","item":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Press release: The Ombudsman for Children publishes 2020 Childhood Paused: Annual Report"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#website","url":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/","name":"Ombudsman for Children","description":"The OCO investigates complaints about services provided to children by public organisations. The service is free and independent.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"ga-IE"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#organization","name":"The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office","url":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ga-IE","@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2018\/01\/oco.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2018\/01\/oco.png","width":228,"height":78,"caption":"The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OCOIreland\/","https:\/\/x.com\/OCO_ireland","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ombudsmanforchildren\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/OCOIreland"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/preprod.oco.ie\/#\/schema\/person\/a35c06b51ef7c3cdd2a65c9afe3d5b2e","name":"Padraig Foran","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"ga-IE","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95919b15397c5874edbfcd2956fd11ba92f0c1ea67df40f470e6f664c488e1f6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95919b15397c5874edbfcd2956fd11ba92f0c1ea67df40f470e6f664c488e1f6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95919b15397c5874edbfcd2956fd11ba92f0c1ea67df40f470e6f664c488e1f6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Padraig Foran"}}]}},"spectra_custom_meta":{"_wp_page_template":["default"],"_thumbnail_id":["18310"],"_wpml_word_count":["1023"],"_uag_page_assets":["a:9:{s:3:\"css\";s:0:\"\";s:2:\"js\";s:0:\"\";s:18:\"current_block_list\";a:1:{i:0;s:13:\"core\/freeform\";}s:8:\"uag_flag\";b:0;s:11:\"uag_version\";s:10:\"1787588379\";s:6:\"gfonts\";a:0:{}s:10:\"gfonts_url\";s:0:\"\";s:12:\"gfonts_files\";a:0:{}s:14:\"uag_faq_layout\";b:0;}"]},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png",1308,1134,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020-300x260.png",300,260,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020-768x666.png",768,666,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020-850x737.png",850,737,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png",1308,1134,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png",1308,1134,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020-150x150.png",150,150,true],"size_150x150":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020-150x150.png",150,150,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png",300,260,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png",400,347,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/app\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ar2020.png",600,520,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Padraig Foran","author_link":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/author\/padraigf\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) today (Wednesday, June 16th) is publishing 2020 Childhood Paused, its Annual Report for 2020. Complaints to the Ombudsman for Children remained high in 2020 despite the pandemic, however fewer complaints ...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5114"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18417,"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5114\/revisions\/18417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}