Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is lovely to see the parents of Senators coming in. I am little envious that I do not have my mother anymore. Senator Hoey does not have her father anymore and Senator Carrigy does not have his mother anymore but it is so lovely to see that Senator Dolan is able to share these moments with her parents.

On Monday the Children’s Rights Alliance published its annual report card, which provides an analysis of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party’s Programme for Government: Our Shared Future, and how it performed for children in 2021. The report examines the promises made to the children in the programme for Government and grades the Government on its performance in bringing about those promised changes. The report states:

2021 was far from a normal year and, to its credit, the Government made good progress in some areas. To reflect this, a ‘B’ grade was awarded on the commitment to create new pathways for long-term undocumented people and their children. There were three ‘B-’ grades for work to end the Direct Provision system, for reform of the childcare system and for the long-awaited guidelines on reduced timetables.

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Things were less stellar at the other end of the spectrum with two ‘E’ grades awarded – the lowest in Report Card 2022. The first of these is given for the increase in the number of children and their families experiencing homelessness. The fact that there were nearly 300 more children and young people in emergency accommodation at the end of the 2021 compared to the beginning of that year, is deeply disappointing particularly given the positive actions taken in 2020 resulting in a fall in homeless families.

It is worth spending some time with the report but a few figures give a sobering snapshot of the work to be done.Just under 2,500 children are homeless, as are 929 young adults. Some 1,795 children and young people are in direct provision. Some 84% of those aged eight to ten years are on social media platforms despite being below the age restriction. There are 2,384 children on the waiting list for a child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, appointment of whom 170 have waited for more than a year. It is all there in the report. How best to help the children of Ireland? It might be a good time to have a debate on this.