{"id":5991,"date":"2022-09-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/?p=5991"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:35:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T12:35:01","slug":"ombudsman-for-childrens-office-submits-two-major-reports-to-un-committee-on-the-rights-of-the-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/ombudsman-for-childrens-office-submits-two-major-reports-to-un-committee-on-the-rights-of-the-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office submits two major reports to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1>Budget 2023 is an opportunity for Government to demonstrate its commitment to children<\/h1>\n<h3>Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office submits two major reports to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child<\/h3>\nIreland\u2019s progress in relation to children\u2019s rights is under the spotlight in two major new reports published by the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office (OCO) today. Pieces of Us, a report by children and young people across Ireland and a report by the OCO have been submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UN Committee).\n\nBoth reports have been submitted as part of an international monitoring and reporting process where the UN Committee periodically examines Ireland\u2019s progress in delivering on its obligations to children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The OCO has submitted these reports ahead of the UN Committee\u2019s constructive dialogue with the State, which is due to take place in January 2023.\n\nThe Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, has said that while these reports recognise a variety of areas where the State has made progress for children, the issues raised highlight different ways in which the State continues to fall short when it comes to upholding children\u2019s rights:\n\n\u201cThirty years on from Ireland\u2019s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, a significant gear change by the State and the Government is needed to address persistent shortfalls in consideration of children and their rights in decisions that affect them.\n\n\u201cWhen Government has to make difficult decisions we regularly hear about the impact that this will have on the exchequer, on business interests and on a range of other factors. Rarely are children at the top of the list of considerations. The pandemic demonstrated how the Government and the State can take innovative approaches, but unfortunately this capacity for innovation still has not been adequately applied to decisions affecting children. A major shift is needed to mainstream children\u2019s rights and to build on the progress that has been made in Ireland over the last thirty years.\n\n\u201cWith the budget quickly approaching and the demands for resources coming from every direction, it is crucial that children are prioritised in a meaningful way, and not just by adding \u2018these changes will positively impact children\u2019 to the relevant press releases.\n\n\u201cIn Pieces of Us children tell us that they are frustrated and disappointed with health services, particularly mental health services. They express their concerns about long waiting lists and inadequate services. They also talk about education, including the need for exam reform, the impact of bullying in schools and the supports they would like to see provided in schools to help them thrive. These children must be listened to.\n\n\u201cPieces of Us heard from over 5,500 children aged between 2 and 17 who took part in an online survey and over 200 children who took part in focus groups between May 2021 and March 2022.\n\n\u201cMeanwhile, the OCO\u2019s report made recommendations in 43 areas where improvements are needed for the State to more fully meet its obligations to children under the UN Convention on the Rights of Child.\n\n\u201cBudget 2023 is an opportunity for the Government to demonstrate its commitment to children by signalling that it will child proof budgetary measures and by introducing specific budget lines that ring fence funding for children &#8211; for example, a specific budget for children\u2019s mental health services. Multi-annual budgets should also be introduced for children with disabilities to properly plan for their predicted needs.\u201d\n\nENDS\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/pieces-of-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pieces of Us<\/a><\/h3>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/library\/report-of-the-ombudsman-for-childrens-office-to-the-un-committee-on-the-rights-of-the-child\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Report of the Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Budget 2023 is an opportunity for Government to demonstrate its commitment to children Ombudsman for Children\u2019s Office submits two major reports to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Ireland\u2019s progress in relation to children\u2019s <a class=\"read_more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oco.ie\/ga\/news\/ombudsman-for-childrens-office-submits-two-major-reports-to-un-committee-on-the-rights-of-the-child\/\">&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":18343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","type-press-release","topic-healthmental-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - 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