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:
The Deputy has identified most of the main problems. I believe the Chair talked about how complicated it is to grow up in Ireland. It is different; it is harder. We have now had to enact a law to state grooming for criminality is a criminal offence. There are children of eight, nine and ten years of age who must face that sort of situation where their parents are not protecting them from criminality. If they do fall down that road, we should be able to bring them back out again.