Dr. Niall Muldoon:

Pre-Covid, we expected between 1,600 and 1,700 complaints most years. In 2020, it reduced because there were many people not making complaints, many things not happening and there was a big gap. Covid, in and of itself, raised people's awareness of our office enormously, especially within the young group and the leaving certificate group. At one stage we had 50 complaints in one weekend from children concerned about the leaving certificate at the time there was no certainty about what the leaving certificate was going to be like. They mobilised themselves, they talked to each other and they sent texts. That awareness grew throughout Covid because we were standing up and being the voice of children in many situations in which they could not be heard. That led to an increase in that particular year, but also last year.

The complaints figure of more than 1,800 is probably one of our highest numbers anyway. Again, people are more sophisticated and are more willing to make complaints as well. We now have parents who are not willing to put up with what parents might previously have put up with and they know the system better. We are getting increases in that way. That is me being nice, but many flaws still have not been fixed. People are very much aware we as a nation are in a financial situation to no longer say we are the poor mouth. We need to fix these things. People are not standing for the poor service they have had for so long and are willing to come forward with complaints as a free alternative to going to court. That has led to it. Falling Behind is something we thought long and hard about, but unfortunately, despite being the 26th-richest county in the world, we are falling behind in the protection of our children's rights in many areas.