Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Dr. Muldoon and congratulate him on his appointment. He faced very stiff competition in applying for the position and I wish him luck in his role. It is a welcome development to have him here before the committee to highlight the areas of major concern to him and to consider what we can do as legislators to assist him in performing his duties more effectively and efficiently. When one looks back to the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children, it was a significant development on the road to the promotion and safeguarding of the welfare of children. Nothing stands still, of course, and we must seek continually to improve on the systems that are in place. When we consider the percentage increase in the number of complaints, the need for that type of evolution is clear.

Given the importance of the work it is doing, I am concerned at Dr. Muldoon's indication that the office is understaffed. The ombudsman expressed confidence that this issue will be addressed. Will he indicate the timeframe in this regard?

Direct provision is a very serious issue. What is Dr. Muldoon's view on the Health Information and Quality Authority having an oversight role in this area? A report was published last week calling for independent oversight of the direct provision system given that one third of residents are children. These children are no different from those living in family homes. They are children of this State and it is vital that this is acknowledged. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children should have a role in safeguarding their well-being. When one considers that we are spending €20 million on an independent investigation into what happened at mother and baby homes, my concern is that if we do not address this issue now, future legislators will be sitting here and asking how we could have allowed the system of direct provision to continue. I have no doubt that when it was introduced, it was never envisaged as a long-term solution. Unfortunately, however, that is what it has become.

The number of children living in consistent poverty has doubled during the recession. That is a national disgrace. One hears about families living in hotels, families travelling to the airport because it is warm and families sleeping in cars. Every Member has observed the increase in the number of people coming in on a weekly basis with housing issues. Indeed, lack of housing accounts for the largest volume of representations to my constituency office. Local authorities are unable to provide housing or intervene in the private market in the way they were able to in former years.

We all know that the longer children spend in poverty, the poorer their life chances are. From an educational point of view children living in poverty do not perform to the same level as children not living in poverty. I welcome the fact that this is a priority on the agenda of the Ombudsman for Children. Will Dr. Muldoon comment on how we could support him in that role? Obviously if the office is not adequately resourced it is a major issue. Does Dr. Muldoon think there are any legislative changes we could bring about which may be supportive?

This is not something Dr. Muldoon touched on, but what is his opinion on the rights of a child to an identity? This relates to promised legislation in the programme for Government to introduce the adoption (information and tracing) Bill. I compliment Senator van Turnhout who has worked with my former party colleague, Senator Power, to bring forward legislation in this regard. This is something I have highlighted myself. It is so important to give a child the right to an identity and I would welcome Dr. Muldoon's views on the matter.

The Supreme Court judgment on the children's referendum from a month ago is welcome. The fact that the matter has now been adjudicated on puts an onus on us as legislators to enact the enabling legislation. I would welcome Dr. Muldoon's opinion on this. We can have all the legislation we like. We have enshrined the rights of children in our Constitution and the Supreme Court has adjudicated on it. At the same time we have a critical lack of necessary resources. The chief executive of Tusla has said that the organisation does not have the necessary resources even to stand still. We have a situation where not all of our children in care have an allocated social worker. We have had situations like those in Laois and Offaly where 1,000 files went unassessed for a period of time. Organisations which promote and support children with a disability have had funding cut to the tune of €86,000. Funding for domestic abuse help services in my constituency has been 100% cut by Tusla. These are real and serious issues and I would welcome Dr. Muldoon's views.

Dr. Muldoon stated he met representatives from Comhairle na nÓg. The same representatives made a fantastic presentation to this committee in the audio-visual room. This is an area I have an interest and one where I have worked since I was a councillor in my constituency. What I see at the moment is a very disjointed and unco-ordinated approach in the mental health system. Many agencies and groups have been established to fill the shortfall by the State, for example, a group in Westmeath called Good2Talk. Pieta House and Console are doing great work. There are so many different organisations but they are totally unco-ordinated. Does Dr. Muldoon not believe it would be better to have a national approach to this issue on the basis that it is a national crisis? The number of our young people who are taking their own lives and suffering from depression and anxiety is alarming. It should not be left to community and voluntary groups. The approach should not be left unco-ordinated and disjointed. We need a national plan to ensure a consistent roll-out in this area. I would welcome the views of Dr. Muldoon on the matter.

Again, I wish Dr. Muldoon well. Certainly, he has highlighted some of the areas that we can work on from a legislative point of view and we would be happy to do that.