Children’s Ombudsman marks 10th anniversary with call for new accountability structures to ensure independence of Ombudsman institutions

As the Ombudsman for Children marks the tenth anniversary of her Office by hosting a conference examining the State’s relationship with children and families, Emily Logan said it is time not just to reflect on the past decade but to consider the future of children’s rights in Ireland.

Emily Logan continued: “Over the past decade, my Office has received a huge amount of support for the work we have undertaken from the public, politicians, civil society and the media. We have also been confronted with significant pockets of resistance, both active and passive, to the advancement of children’s rights.

“Looking forward I believe the orientation of law and policy in Ireland must be towards fuller respect for the rights enumerated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. I believe that Ireland continues to require a dedicated, expert and independent oversight of civil and public administration in this area.

“As I finish my tenure next year, I am of course concerned about the future of this Office because we have witnessed how independent institutions can be subject to politics.

As Ombudsman for Children I account directly to the Oireachtas; however, I do not believe that Ombudsman institutions in Ireland enjoy the level of independence required to secure our future as a mature and well-functioning democracy. At present, the Executive, via individual Departments, controls the funding of Ombudsmen through Oireachtas votes even though these departments can be the subject of an investigation.

“I believe the legislature needs to reconsider the relationship between the Executive and Ombudsman institutions. I believe that in order to ensure and enhance the independence of such institutions, including my own Office, an Oireachtas committee should be charged with determining our budgets, providing for financial accountability, as well as ensuring that people like me are doing their jobs.

Emily Logan concluded: “The Irish public service achieves a great deal for children and for the community every single day. Strengthening independent oversight allows for those services to become better. At a time when there is such disappointing and unwarranted criticism – indeed, at times derision – directed at the public service, I believe that Ombudsman can play a crucial role in rebuilding the public’s trust.”

ENDS

Contact: Nikki Gallagher at 086-8163246

Ombudsman for Children Speech at the Anniversary Symposium (April 2014) (PDF 100kb)

For more information on children’s rights see www.itsyourright.ie

Ombudsman for Children timeline

• 2002 – The Ombudsman for Children Act, which sets out the role and powers of the Office, was agreed by the Dail and the Seanad.
• December 2003 – Emily Logan was appointed, by President Mary McAleese, Ireland’s first Ombudsman for Children.
• April 2004 – The Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002 was commenced in full.
• January 2005 – The Ombudsman for Children outlines to the All Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution why children and young people’s rights should be expressly stated in the Constitution.
• April 2004 – April 2005 – During the first year in operation, 177 complaints were received to the Ombudsman for Children’s Office.
• March 2006 – Ombudsman for Children tells the Oireachtas Committee that a review of child protection services must be undertaken as a matter of priority in order to protect vulnerable young people and their families.
• April 2006 – The Ombudsman for Children reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the occasion of the examination of Ireland’s Second Report to the Committee.
• April 2006 – The government referred the first set of legislative proposals to the OCO. These were the proposed changes to the Children Act, 2001.
• September 2007 – More than 1,030 primary and post-primary schools, Youthreach centres and Senior Traveller Training Centres from all over the country take part in the Big Ballot. This is Ireland’s first ever nationwide poll of children young people, which will help shape the work of the OCO.
• October 2007 ­– Ombudsman for Children reports on the occasion of the examination of Ireland’s First Report under the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of Children in Armed Conflict.
• April 2008 – Ombudsman for Children’s Office brought together key statutory bodies to discuss how a standing child death review mechanism could be established in Ireland such as those found in other jurisdictions
• September 2008 – Emily Logan is appointed Chair of European Network of Ombudsmen for Children.
• November 2009 ­ – The Children’s Ombudsman publishes the findings of a project with separated children undertaken by her Office. The overall aim of the separated children project was to better understand the life and level of care afforded to separated children in Ireland by hearing directly from this group of young people.
• December 2009 – Emily Logan is reappointed to the post of Ombudsman for Children for a second term of six years.
• February 2010 – The Ombudsman for Children completes her investigation into the implementation of Children First: National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children.
• May 2010 – The Ombudsman for Children writes to An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD, to urge the Government to provide clarity on the application of the ‘in camera’ rule.
• February 2011 – The Ombudsman for Children publishes report on young people in St Patrick’s Institution. This report is based on a series of consultations with young people detained in St Patrick’s Institution, sets out findings and recommendations from the Ombudsman for Children to the management of St Patrick’s Institution and the Irish Prison Service.
• March 2012 – Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, submitted a formal report, in accordance with her statutory mandate, to the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Minister for Children seeking changes to the legislation that governs her Office, the Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002.
• April 2012 – Ombudsman for Children publishes report Homeless Truths: Children’s experience of homelessness in Ireland.
• July 2012 – Remit of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office extended to include St Patrick’s Institution.
• November 2012 – Ombudsman for Children hosts “The Big Debate”. A debate for young people on the proposed Children Referendum.
• April 2013 – 180 new public bodies come under the Ombudsman for Children’s remit following the extension of the Ombudsman for Children Act, 2002.
• October 2013 – Minister for Justice Alan Shatter gives The Ombudsman for Children the power under Section 42 of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005 to investigate An Garda Síochána’s actions in recent events in which two children were taken in to state care.
• February 2014 ­- The President of the District Court, Her Honour, Judge Rosemary Horgan and the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan have launch ) a targeted information campaign supporting separating parents and their children.
• March 2014 – Ombudsman for Children submits “A meta-analysis of repetitive root cause issues regarding the provision of services for children in care” to the Oireachtas.
• April 2014 – The Ombudsman for Children submits to the Minister for Justice the report of her Special Inquiry into the events surrounding the taking into care of two Roma children.

• 25 April 2014
• Type: Press Release