The Irish Model—The Ombudsman for Children

Ireland introduced its national human rights institution for children with the enactment in 2004 of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002. The development was a clear political response to a series of child abuse scandals at the national level and Ireland’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992 and its first appearance before the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 1998. These events highlighted the need for an independent national body established through the enactment of legislation, with the power and authority to protect and promote children’s rights. Under the 2002 Act, the Ombudsman for Children is created as an independent office, accountable to parliament, resourced and empowered in line with the expectations of the Paris Principles and General Comment No. 2 of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. This chapter presents the legislative basis of the Ombudsman for Children, traces its origins and background, and then considers the extent to which it meets the international standards for NHRIs for children.