Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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889. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the progress in the awareness raising campaign, stated in a reply to a Parliamentary Question from this Deputy on 7 November 2023, that was expected to commence in early 2024; and if he will provide a detailed account on same. [44054/24]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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In September 2024 my Department launched a public awareness campaign on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The campaign ‘Rights Here’ was rolled out across radio, digital and social media with the aim to increase public awareness of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The campaign was guided by the text of Article 42 of the convention which notes that 'State Parties should undertake to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known, by appropriate and active means, to adults and children alike.'

A recent survey of 1000 adults in Ireland commissioned by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth found that whilst two thirds of respondents had heard of the UNCRC, 68% of respondents knew little to nothing about it and only 1% knew ‘lots about the UNCRC’.

The campaign has a clear call to action to visit a dedicated landing page at www.gov.ie/uncrc, which provides a range of information on the convention itself the reporting process and progress that has been made in Ireland in relation to children's rights since ratification in 1992.

The campaign page also includes information on the optional protocols to the UNCRC and provides current information relating to the 2nd Optional Protocol which is the final optional protocol of the UNCRC to be ratified.

The Government is firmly committed to ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Following enactment of several legislative measures necessary to ensure that Ireland is in compliance with the obligations of the Optional Protocol, including the recent Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024, officials in my Department will be working with the Attorney General’s Office on the next steps to ensure readiness across all relevant Departments.

Analytics from the 'Rights Here' campaign will be reviewed and a follow-up nationally represented survey is planned to gather data in relation to awareness levels post campaign.