The Government has received a C+ grade from the Children's Rights Alliance in its annual "report card" on the State's commitments to children.
The alliance said the grade showed the Government's record was improving but it still had more to do.
Chief executive Tanya Ward said the grade, the best achieved by any government since the alliance first published its report card in 2009, had the potential to give Ireland a “fresh start” on the road to make it one of the best places in the world to be a child.
However, she highlighted two areas where the Government fell down: the continued detention of 16- and 17-year-olds in St Patrick’s Institution in Dublin; and the impact of Budget 2012 on vulnerable families.
The Government received an E grade on the impact of budget cuts on children in poverty, a grade which Ms Ward reflected the "unfair" cuts aimed at low income families, particularly lone parents and families with three or more children. "We know that these families are amongst the most vulnerable to poverty," she said.
The Government received an F for the continued detention of children at St Patrick’s, part of the Mountjoy prison complex. The institution houses people from the age of 16 to 21 in a mostly adult regime.
Ms Ward said the overall B- on education was brought down by the cuts in the provision of special education needs for children with special requirements.
In health, the Government received a C overall. The Government was praised for its committal to build a national children’s hospital. Ms Ward said while some progress had been made on mental health, the overall C+ grade was dragged down by the continuing practice of placing children in adult units.
The Government was only awarded a D grade in relation to alcohol and drugs because it had failed to publish a national addition strategy or to take any concrete steps to deal with the impact of alcohol on children.
Ms Ward welcomed the Government’s commitment to hold a referendum on the rights of the child this year; the establishment of the department of children and youth affairs and process towards the establishment of a new child and family support agency.
She congratulated the Government on its overall grade. “You have done better but you could do more,” she said this morning. “Next year, we won’t just be evaluating the Government on its intentions. We’re going to be evaluating the Government on its performance and its deliverables so it should be a much tougher report card."