Neglecting our kids

ere were 1,812 complaints to the Ombudsman for Children’s O ce (OCO) in 2022 – with 18 coming directly from Kilkenny. e OCO deals with complaints about services for children and is an alternative to court for those who are not happy with responses they have received from government departments and public services.

Falling Behind; the Ombudsman for Children’s O ce Annual Report for 2022 reveals that education was once again the most complained about issue (30%), with bullying, expulsion or suspension, and special education resources featuring in many of the complaints.

Signi cantly, the work of the o ce in 2022 shows that on many issues, Ireland is starting to fall behind on children’s rights. is was re ected in two major OCO reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and their subsequent Concluding Observations, which raised