John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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53. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will respond to the fact that the Office of the Ombudsman for Children has stated that Ireland is falling behind on children’s rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26082/23]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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In January this year I led the Irish delegation to the UN Committee Hearing on the Rights of the Child in Geneva. Their concluding observations welcomed the legislative, institutional and policy measures Ireland has already taken to implement the Convention. However, they also raised concerns and gave recommendations on where we need to do better. The UN observations, along with the available data and findings from consultations, will inform the next national policy framework for children and young people in Ireland.

My Department expects to publish this policy framework in the coming months. The Blueprint for the Framework was published in August 2022 and set out the approach to the framework which takes a rights-based approach. This includes a focus on system level actions which enable an environment where children and young people’s rights and needs are central considerations. These actions are largely based on the UN Committee’s General Measures of implementation and include: Piloting child rights impact assessments; conducting a legislative review of compliance with the UNCRC; piloting the introduction of child budgeting and further development and dissemination of sufficient and reliable data on children and young people, disaggregated to enable identification of discrimination and/or disparities in the realisation of rights.

The Voice of the Child is a central consideration and this Framework will build on my Department's extensive work to date on developing children's participation in decisions that affect them.

My Department will also be hosting a Child Summit before the end of 2023 to raise awareness of children’s rights in the context of the measures proposed in the new National Policy Framework.