Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 26 June 2025
Committee on Children and Equality
Engagement with Office of the Ombudsman for Children
2:00 am
Dr. Niall Muldoon:
That is not something we have considered. I engage with Professor Donal O'Shea in this regard. As the Senator said, he identified concerns. I am aware of those concerns and have engaged with him on those. The Government has promised to provide the best possible appropriate care for all of our children, including mental health care, physical care and medical care. In this case, we have let down our children who were asking questions for whatever reason. We have let them down. We have not provided that service. We outsourced it to the Tavistock centre. That centre has been closed. We now have an new individual lead and are creating a new team. However, throughout this time, a range of children - I do not know the number - are constantly asking themselves questions and we do not have anywhere to bring them or talk to them or a multidisciplinary team to work with them.