Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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304. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of requests for additional funding, staff resources or expertise that have been made by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children since January 2016; the purpose of the requested additional, funding staff resources or expertise; the response of her Department to each request in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13147/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Firstly, I would like to say that I am fully supportive of the work of the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Niall Muldoon and the staff of his Office. The Office is not only a mechanism of redress but has a significant role to play as an independent national monitor in the area of children's rights.

In July 2016, the Ombudsman for Children submitted a business case to this Department proposing a significant expansion of his staffing resources. At my first meeting with Dr. Muldoon I indicated my support for his proposal and that it would be done on a suitably phased basis.

The allocation for the Ombudsman for Children's Office was increased from €2.154m in 2016 to €2.360m in 2017. I am pleased that in 2018 I secured an allocation of €2.733m for the Office. My Department's External HR Unit is working with the Ombudsman for Children's Office to obtain the necessary approvals to proceed with the required recruitment, and other temporary requested measures, as outlined in the following tables: