Dr. Karen McAuley:

To build on Professor O'Mahony's points, from our perspective it is most important to ensure that what is provided for via the proposals complies with, and gives effect to, the right including children's right to an effective remedy. From our perspective, what is proposed at present does not appear to be aligned with children's right to an effective remedy, as conceived by the Council of Europe in its 2018 recommendation which Professor O'Mahony referenced and several general comments issued by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, including its most recent comment on children's rights in the digital environment.

In respect of children's rights to an effective remedy, reference is made to the need for child-sensitive mechanisms. That means mechanisms that are prompt, genuinely available and accessible, and able to receive, investigate and address complaints. Therefore, t is important to give further consideration to the introduction of an individual complaints mechanism. We understand the Department's concerns, and clearly it would not be in service users' interests, including those of children, for the commissioner to be overwhelmed by complaints such as to create significant delays or backlogs in addressing them. However, as Professor O'Mahony indicated, it would not be anticipated that the commissioner would be the first port of call. Really, what needs to happen is that online services are provided with the competencies to be able to deal with complaints appropriately, effectively, which means swiftly, and that where the manner of dealing with it does not resolve the problem, service users including children and parents acting on their behalf have the opportunity to approach the commissioner with their concerns.