Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen to meet with Ombudsman for Children to discuss 2022 annual report

The meeting at 1.30pm in Committee Room 4 of Leinster House will hear from Dr Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children, and Ms Nuala Ward, Director of Investigations.

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Martin Browne said: “The Office of the Children’s Ombudsman is an independent statutory body with responsibility for dealing with complaints made by, or for, children about the actions of public organisations, and promoting the rights and welfare of children under 18 living in Ireland.

“The Committee welcomes this opportunity to meet with Dr Muldoon and Ms Ward and we look forward to discussing his 2022 report ‘Falling Behind’, which sets out that on many issues Ireland is starting to fall behind on children’s rights, and related matters.”

The Committee will also consider the following petitions:

• Public Petition Number P00006/22 ‘Bye/By Elections in Ireland may comply with legislation however they do not comply with the Constitution’ (resumed);
• Public Petition Number P00035/22 ‘Amend Child Care Act 1991 to provide HIQA with the necessary powers to sanction Tusla, Child and Family Agency when it fails to meet its statutory obligations’ (resumed);
• Public Petition Number P00066/22 ‘Create a Health Services Student Allowance’ (resumed);
• Public Petition Number P00022/23 ‘Supreme Court referral of the Incitement to Hatred Bill 2022’ (resumed);
• Public Petition Number P00036/23 ‘Invincibles Reinterment Campaign’ (resumed);
• Public Petition Number P00002/24 ‘Fairness for Existing Work Permit Holders: We want to stay and contribute’.

The Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen is a standing Committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas and has 11 Members, seven from the Dáil and four from the Seanad.

The meeting in the Committee Room 4 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.