Voices of children in St Patrick’s prison harnessed to bring about change.

The Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, said: “My 2010 annual report illustrates the need for public sector reform in relation to how the State supports children and families. Areas that I believe are of serious concern are the excessively bureaucratic approach to decision making by public administration, and the failure to ensure the implementation of national laws and policy such as the Child Care Act, 1991 and Children First – National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children.

The report, which concludes the first six-year period of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office, outlines the important role the Office has played since its establishment in 2004 promoting and monitoring children’s rights, providing quality control of public services to children and offering an independent, impartial and free redress mechanism for children and families who are unhappy about how they have been treated.

1,223 complaints were dealt with by the Office in 2010. Education accounted for 38% of complaints, 37% were health related, 8% were Justice related and 5% were Housing related. Parents remain the best advocates for their children with 75% of complaints coming from family members, 10% from professionals and 4% from young people themselves.