An ombudsman for children and a national child-care authority for Ireland have been recommended by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. Its report is highly critical of Ireland's record on child care. In a report issued yesterday, following its hearings on the situation in the Republic, the committee also called for a ban on slapping children.
It also said it is concerned at the lack of mandatory reporting of child abuse in Ireland.
Last week the committee questioned the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, about Irish child-care policy and practice. It has also questioned voluntary organisations.
It says there is no comprehensive national policy on child care; that there is too little co-ordination between the agencies whose task is to protect children; and that the voluntary sector is given too little say in the area of childcare.
Its view were welcomed by the Children's Rights Alliance which represents about 60 voluntary groups and which met the committee late last year.
"We are particularly delighted that the UN committee have recommended the establishment of an independent monitoring body such as an ombudsman to address children's rights violations adequately," said its chairwoman, Ms Madeleine Clarke.
Plans by the last government to appoint an ombudsman for children were scrapped by Mr Frank Fahey, the Minister of State for Children.
Ms Liz O'Donnell told the UN committee last week that she would seek to have the idea reconsidered. The Irish Times was this week unable to get any indication from the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Government Information Service as to whether the position would be reconsidered.
The Department of Health and Children said last night that it did not yet have a comment on the UN report.
Points made by the UN Committee include:
A welcome for the Child Trafficking and Pornography Bill.
A welcome for plans to establish a social services inspectorate coupled with concern "about the lack of an independent monitoring mechanism such as an ombudsperson or a child rights commissioner accessible to children for dealing with complaints of violations of their rights and to provide remedies for such violations."
Concern about the lack of guarantees for the child to maintain contact with both parents after divorce.
Concern about the situation of children who are excluded from schools because of sanctions imposed by teachers "and the adverse effect generated which may sometimes impact on drop-out rates and school attendance".
Fragmentation of responsibility for child-care services emerges as a strong theme in the report.
To deal with this, it urges Ireland "to concentrate in a single body the mandate to co-ordinate and make the appropriate decisions to protect the rights of the child".
Earlier this week Mr Fahey's area of responsibility was extended to include children's issues, not just in the Department of Health and Children but also in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Education and Science.
The committee came out against corporal punishment in the home, recommending legislation to ban it.
It suggested that Ireland "take all appropriate measures, including of a legislative nature, to prohibit and eliminate the use of corporal punishment within the family environment".
It expressed concern at the low age of criminal responsibility.