The Children’s watchdog says that issues raised in the Ryan Report are ‘still alive and well’.
According to the 2009 annual report for the Ombudsman for Children there was a 13% increase in the number of complaints the office received last year.
Of the issues raised in the 912 complaints received in 2009 one remains that children do not feel they are being heard about issues that affect them.
Ombudsman Emily Logan says a constitutional referendum on the rights of the child is vital.
“What’s very, very clear to me is because the Constitution – which is the gold standard – doesn’t provide for children, everything else that flows from that means that it’s deficient in terms of really placing the interests of children ahead of anything else” she said.
“What we have is legislation that accommodates a public opinion, rather than placing the interests of children first” she added.
