The Children’s Ombudsman Niall Muldoon has criticised both the HSE and Tusla for not adequately making plans for disabled children in care.

The children's ombudsman has described as “absolutely despicable” the length of time it took to set up the country's first multi-agency centre for sexually abused children.

Dr Niall Muldoon is extremely critical of the state's failure to put in place an initiative that was first suggested more than five years ago.

The word picnic is a particularly evocative one, conjuring up images of pleasure, enjoyment, and sunny days that never seem to end.

The furore around the Maria Bailey ‘swing gate’ case helped the public understand the costs bearing down on the insurance industry — but the Government will too quickly forget the lessons over insurance claims and high legal costs, according to FBD boss Fiona Muldoon.

Paul Muldoon has gathered a motley crew of writers and musicians for a tour of Ireland, writes Alan O’Riordan.

Schools may be inappropriately using reduced timetables as informal suspensions to deal with behaviour deemed difficult to manage in the classroom, the Ombudsman for Children has warned.

Here's your summer events guide for the month of August, including all things music, arts and ents.

The state’s most vulnerable children are not benefiting from the economic upturn and use of words like “inclusiveness” and “equality” are sometimes little more than lip service, according to the Ombudsman for Children.

A bus driver who collected dozens of schoolchildren each day had 49 defects on his vehicle — seven of which were classed as dangerous.

“We can no longer allow our children to live with the overwhelming feelings of shame, guilt and anger because they are homeless, through no fault of their own.”

Tusla, the child and family agency, has admitted there is “work yet to be completed” when it comes to comprehensive supports for children with disabilities in care after it and the HSE were criticised by the Ombudsman for Children.

The Child and Family Agency has admitted there is "work yet to be completed" when it comes to comprehensive supports for children with disabilities in care after it and the HSE were criticised by the Ombudsman for Children.

Insurance group FBD views the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU without a trade deal in place as the single biggest headwind facing its performance this year.

The Ombudsman for Children has said he will watch to ensure commitments made about the education of Syrian refugees in special reception centres around the country are met.

Adam Muldoon who had cerebral palsy, was discovered dead in a park in Tallaght on June 23 last.

Canadian financial services giant Fairfax looks on course to convert its bond option into shares in insurer FBD in the coming months and the possibility of some sort of other deal might yet be on the table, FBD chief executive Fiona Muldoon has said.

Poet Paul Muldoon’s intensely intimate work, ‘Incantata’, is being re-imagined for the theatre and will premiere at the Galway Arts Festival, writes Marjorie Brennan.

Shares in FBD, the stock market-listed insurer, will be closely watched this morning, after its board ordered an investigation into chief executive, Fiona Muldoon, following allegations made about her conduct by the firm’s chief human resources officer.

A 17-year-old boy has appeared before the Children’s Court charged with the murder of a man in Dublin.

Adam Muldoon was found beaten and stabbed in Butler Park in Tallaght at around 6.30am on Saturday morning.

Detectives investigating the murder of a man in a Dublin park have arrested a juvenile.

A lack of sensitivity and use of confusing clinical language are among the challenges identified by young people using mental health services, according to a new report from the Ombudsman for Children.

Children are being let down by public bodies such as the HSE and Tusla who fail to keep their best interests at heart and by a mental health service where psychiatrists are not routinely available to suicidal young people.

A 24-hour social work service is a critical requirement for children in need, according to the ISPCC.

Connacht 47 Leinster 10: On a day when Connacht bade farewell to their talisman from Portumna, along comes another farmer’s son from a few miles away on the other side of the River Shannon to lay down a marker and offer hope for the future with hooker Shane Delahunt producing a remarkable display on a day of celebration in Galway.

Peter Bracken, the former Munster, Connacht and Wasps prop, tells a great story about one of his first encounters playing alongside John Muldoon for Galwegians.

“I could see he had the makings of an excellent coach.”

Connacht coach Kieran Keane is happy with his side’s progression in his first season in charge, but admits they need to beat Gloucester on Saturday to have any hope of Champions Cup rugby next season.

John Muldoon looks set to remain involved in rugby and having built up considerable coaching experience during his playing career, Connacht supporters will be hoping that the province’s finest player will return in due course when he hangs up his boots in May.

"I’ve been so proud to be part of it all, but every journey sadly must come to an end."

Children’s rights groups have warned that many families still have to “fight the system” every day to secure adequate services, just as the foster carers of a girl abandoned at birth vied to get the full range of supports she needed.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, is to undertake a systemic review of the supports and services being offered to children in their care with a moderate to severe disability, following an investigation by the Ombudsman for Children.

There is a perception among Connacht supporters that Leinster is the team they love to defeat, Ulster is the side they can’t beat and Munster’s scalp is the one they treasure most of all.

Connacht's five-match winning run came to an end as Cardiff Blues triumphed 36-30 at Arms Park.

Connacht skipper John Muldoon was delighted with tonight’s victory over Munster in Galway although very relieved in the end to have helped his side hold out under mounting pressure.

Connacht captain John Muldoon said that Simon Zebo has probably put his international career ‘on the back burner’ by going to France, but the veteran star can understand why he has made the move.

Connacht paid the price for a shocking first-half display as they were beaten 21-8 by the Dragons in Newport.

Concerns expressed by the Child and Family Agency Tusla about mandatory reporting are “predictable and understandable”, a social work expert has said.

The boss of insurance firm FBD has hit back at criticism by the Law Society president that blame for the Setanta Insurance fallout and high premiums lay squarely at foot of the insurance industry, saying it was meritless and ‘without fact’, writes Pádraig Hoare.