Ireland’s child advocacy group slams Government for broken promises

In three specific areas, the Government received a mark of E or D- to reflect a distinct lack of progress in the view of the Children’s Right Alliance. Picture: PA

The last Government failed to keep several of its promises to the children of Ireland in areas like mental health and homelessness leaving some groups being left behind, the Children’s Rights Alliance has said.

In its annual report card, despite positives in some areas, the advocacy group said due to the lack of progress children who were already on the fringes of society have been “further marginalised by the lack of Government ambition”.

“As many of the same political leaders return to their seat for the next five years – there are no more excuses,” said the Children’s Rights Alliance chief executive Tanya Ward said.

“Actions will speak louder than words. The commitments to children and young people in the new Programme for Government will only be worth the paper they are written on with political drive, cross-departmental efforts and sustained investment to make them happen.” 

In three specific areas, the Government received a mark of E or D- to reflect a distinct lack of progress in the view of the Children’s Right Alliance.

In the area of mental health, this was the fourth E grade it had received in a row.

It said there had been “unacceptable spikes” in children on waiting lists for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from 2,755 in 2020 to 3,830 in 2024. It also said the new Mental Health Bill, as it is currently envisaged, is also a cause for concern.

Over the lifetime of the last Government, its mark on ending Direct Provision regressed from a C+ to an E.

The “unprecedented increase in the number of people seeking international protection proved an insurmountable challenge”, according to the group, as it cited deteriorating conditions in IPAS centres and child safeguarding gaps.

Ms Ward said: “In 2024, 6,894 children were living in emergency-style accommodation that does not comply with the Government’s own National Standards that are designed to protect children’s rights.

“What is most concerning are the serious child protection issues that have arisen. In one case, four children went missing for 15 days when their parent was hospitalised. Staff were unaware of the children’s whereabouts during this time.” 

Concerns were also raised for children with special educational needs as Ms Ward said parents had shared distressing events of treatment that could amount to “degrading and inhumane” in some cases.

On the other hand, the Government received strong marks in areas such as free school books (A+) and early childhood education and care (B+).

In the area of child safety online, it said despite huge progress the implementation of efforts fell far short of what was required as the grade dropped from A to a B-.

“The Online Safety Code is disappointingly weak as it currently gives online platforms far too much scope and discretion to design their own rules, leaving vulnerable children exposed to harmful and illegal content,” the advocacy group said.

“More work is needed in areas relating to age verification, robust complaint mechanisms and addressing illegal content specific to children.”