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Seanad
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Ombudsman for Children report

Summary

A Senator welcomes the Ombudsman for Children’s report and says the office plays an important role in challenging Government on children’s issues.

I want to touch on the issue of the Ombudsman for Children's report. It was covered very extensively on all social media outlets and on "Morning Ireland" this morning. As always, I am very supportive of the ombudsman. I know we all are here. Some might describe him as a thorn in the side of Government but that is not always a bad thing. We need to be prodded every now and again and challenged on issues around children. There is a very strict protocol and code around the conduct of the work of any ombudsman and he is always within the parameters of that. I welcome all of that and I know he has engaged extensively through the Oireachtas committees on children but also in response to Oireachtas engagement generally. I want to acknowledge that.

However, at the very end of his statement as published today by RTÉ, he raises and mentions the following. These are his words and not really mine. RTÉ reports that "Thirty-four years on from the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child... the Ombudsman for Children has called for full incorporation" of the convention into Irish law. Dr. Muldoon went on to describe Ireland's EU Presidency as "a pivotal moment in time for rights across the board". I agree with him. The Deputy Leader will recall that we had a very extensive and robust engagement in relation to the Mental Health Bill and this particular convention kept coming up. In fairness to the Minister, she pointed out that it is really a challenge across all aspects of Government, not just health, mental health and children. We have ratified this convention and it is important, therefore, that we now take steps to seek its full incorporation into Irish law. I ask if that could be progressed if possible.

Finally, in one sentence, I want to thank Members right across the House who came here last night and engaged in the debate on women in agriculture. There was an exceptionally positive sense of engagement. I met the Minister afterwards and he, too, took away from it that great sense of cross-party engagement in relation to the promotion of the UN designation of the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026. It showed that when we work together and collaborate with each other, we can get consensus. It is not all about consensus, and I do not really like consensus in politics. It is not necessarily a good thing either but I refer to a sense of positivity about promoting and enhancing equal opportunity for women and men to access all aspects of a meaningful career in agriculture. I thank everyone who spent the time here and actively engaged. It was a really good evening's work and we have had tremendous feedback from it.

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