The 2017 annual report from the Ombudsman for Children's office shows that they received 1,755 complaints last year, up 4 percent from 2016's figures.

 

“This highlights a continued failure by public bodies to put the interests of children at the centre of their decisions,” Dr Niall Muldoon noted.

 

The Irish Times reports that education makes up the highest proportion of complaints, as it has in previous years, at 45 percent.

 

Child protection and welfare follows at 22 percent, trailed then by health (14 percent), justice (7 percent), and housing (6 percent).

 

 

The ombudsman received 57 complaints last year about kids not being able to access mental health services swiftly.

 

“We have told the HSE we had serious concerns about how suicidal young people access emergency services and the difficulties faced in certain parts of the country," Dr Muldoon writes in the report.

 

"All children who need an assessment of mental health in emergency departments should be able to access this quickly – not days after the event.”

 

Dr Muldoon also highlighted how parents in direct provision may be afraid to ask for improved conditions in case it worsens the situation for their children.

 

 

These kids of asylum seekers are experiencing stress, overcrowding, poverty, and a lack of cooking facility access.

 

The report shows concerns about the 'significant variations' in quality of direct provision centres, as there are no statutory guidelines in place for these centres or an independent body to inspect them.

 

“We received 29 individual complaints in 2017 from families [in direct provision] about a range of issues including financial supports, accommodation and other public services," Dr Muldoon said, noting that this number is 'low'.

 

However, he explained, “We believe the low number ... is due to a perception that making complaints would impact negatively on living conditions or lead to an undesirable transfer within the system.”

 

 

Regarding housing, Dr Muldoon said that Government's plan to address the housing crisis, otherwise known as Rebuilding Ireland, has 'made little progress'.

 

He said that the resulting child homelessness is a 'shame' as 'we are tolerating a situation where almost 10,000 people are [homeless], including 3,500 children'.

 

“There is an over-reliance on the private sector to provide housing and a failure to provide sufficient social housing," Dr Muldoon added.

 

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