Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I will take the adjournment on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Brian Lenihan, Minister of State with special responsibility for children. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to this House an update on this matter.

The Ombudsman for Children recently issued her first annual report. The Ombudsman for Children was appointed in December 2003 and the office was formally established in April 2004 with a staffing complement of nine. The report covers the period from April 2004 to April 2005.

The role of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children is twofold: to promote the rights and welfare of children and to investigate complaints.

On the investigation of complaints, the office has a wide remit that includes public bodies, schools and voluntary hospitals. This remit exceeds that of the Office of the Ombudsman, which has sought a similar wide-ranging remit for several years. During the period under review, 177 complaints were received which, for an office in its infancy, must be seen as substantial. The majority of complaints — 51% — related to education, 16% related to health and just over one quarter concerned child protection, social welfare entitlements, civil proceedings, asylum and immigration.

Actions excluded from the remit of the Ombudsman for Children are broadly similar to those of the Office of the Ombudsman. In the annual report the Ombudsman for Children addresses a number of areas in which her powers of investigation are limited. These include children in certain places of detention, the Garda Síochána, administration of the law relating to naturalisation, immigration, citizenship and asylum, the Defence Forces and provision for a ministerial veto in investigations. These limitations are in place as a result of independent bodies having investigation powers, such as the visiting committees for prisons and places of detention and the plans for a Defence Forces ombudsman.

The ministerial veto also exists in the Act establishing the Office of the Ombudsman and has never been used. The provision is in place to protect both the Minister and the Ombudsman for Children. It ensures that the Minister is accountable to the Oireachtas by avoiding any interference in the role of the Minister. It also protects the Ombudsman for Children as such a request must be in writing and it would be expected that the Ombudsman for Children would include this in any report to the Oireachtas, thus ensuring transparency.

As can be seen from the report, the establishment of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children has been very successful. The Ombudsman for Children adds a central plank to promoting children's rights and welfare, along with investigating complaints relating to issues affecting children. It is a major step forward in implementing the national children's strategy, particularly the first goal, which is concerned with giving children a voice.

I am pleased to report that the National Children's Office has made excellent progress in ensuring the development of structures to give children a voice and recently published national guidelines with the NGO sector on participation by children and young people.

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