Róisín Shortall
Question:140 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Health and Children the proposals, if any, he has to establish an ombudsman for children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17185/99]
Written Answers. - Ombudsman for Children.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Ireland is a party, sets out a broad range of children's rights which states party to the convention have committed themselves to respect. There is no specific requirement in the convention to establish a children's ombudsman, although the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child regards the establishment of a mechanism to vindicate the rights of children as being implicit in the convention but it accepts that a children's ombudsman is only one appropriate model. The matter is being examined.
Deputies may wish to note that I meet the Norwegian children's ombudsman today to discuss the role and functions of his office with a view to assisting me in progressing this matter.