Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The role of the Ombudsman for Children includes generally monitoring the situation of children in the country and advising the Government on policy and legislation to ensure the protection of children. I wish to ask about the position of children in families being pushed through homeless services or having housing difficulties. Is this a significant feature of the complaints the Ombudsman for Children receives or a general concern of his? If it is not I strongly urge him to look at it because the situation is dire.

Many families with children, often with disabilities and special needs, arrive to local authority offices facing homelessness and are told there is nothing for them and to sleep in the car for the weekend, or they are placed in completely unsuitable environments such as hotels or emergency hostel accommodation with people with drug problems. This week I spoke to a young woman with two young special needs children who was placed in a hotel. After she walked through the door, she was offered heroin by the first person she met, in front of her children. This is where the local authority put her. It is absolutely unacceptable for children to be in this environment. Does the Ombudsman for Children receive many complaints in this area? Does he have concerns about it? If so, is he making his views known? Should I encourage people to make complaints to the Ombudsman for Children about the situation, because it needs to be dealt with urgently?

I am also greatly concerned about youth mental health services. Does the Ombudsman for Children receive many complaints in this area and is he concerned? The situation in this regard is also dire. There is a lack of beds for young people with mental health problems, often who are self-harming and possibly suicidal. They are either put in adult hospitals which are totally inappropriate, or told there is nothing for them and are given no supports or resources. I have a very worrying case of a mother who believes her son may commit suicide. He has been self-harming. She has gone to the HSE, and to everybody, but has been told there is nothing for her. I would like the Ombudsman for Children to respond on these two areas.