Children still at risk - Ombudsman’s keynote address at Allingham Festival 

Children’s Ombudsman and Donegal man Dr Niall Muldoon gave the keynote address and lecture at this year’s Allingham Festival in Ballyshannon, which marked one of its busiest and most successful festivals to date.

Addressing the packed audience on opening night, the Donegal Town native revealed that he was particularly honoured to be there as a fellow Donegal man, as well as getting a chance “to visit the Mammy”.

“Now and again I get to come to Donegal as part of my work and tonight it is a real honour to have the opportunity to talk to you about the role children play in Irish society, the value they bring and the way this has changed over the years,” he said. 

Addressing a captive audience he said that the lecture, Children’s Rights from the Workhouse to the Family Hub focused on how our relationship as a State, and as a nation, with children has changed in the way that we see and treat them. 

“Some of that change is positive, but, unfortunately, we have also seen some negative and very damaging changes. And what is crucial to communicate is the value that children bring– and how by considering their needs we improve society in general. 

“Already this evening we have had a really powerful insight into what Ireland was like in the time of the famine and the impact that this had on the people of this island. 

“ When it comes to children specifically Gerard Moran, 19th Century historian from University of Galway described the children who lived during the famine as a ‘lost generation’ facing the type of harsh conditions no child should ever have to live in. Children were considered by the authorities as a ‘permanent deadweight’, and ‘a financial burden on the State that brought little return’. Children under two could stay with their parents, and those aged three and up were separated from their families in different parts of the workhouse," he said.

Devastated

He told a story of being in Limerick and hearing the story of the girl’s orphanage which was opened to spare girls from living in the Workhouse. 

“I was absolutely devastated by the story of three young sisters around 1900 who lost both their parents and their grandparents in the workhouse and so were moved to live in the Orphanage. Unfortunately, soon after they arrived, there was a famous case of food poisoning and it made international news because 9 children died. 

“It turned out that the girls died from eating Beef Stew which had been originally eaten by the sisters who ran the orphanage – only the girls got to eat it 2 weeks later (with no refrigeration or hygiene elements to the re-heating process). 

The youngest of the sisters and the eldest both died with the middle child losing her parents, grandparents and siblings before her sixth birthday.

“I tell this story, because it does not take much interrogation to realise that the trauma visited upon that middle child might still happen today. The death of a grandparent or parent is an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) and many of the vulnerable children of today could have to suffer that pain.” 

He said, for children to achieve their full potential, as is their human right, they need health care, nutrition, and protection from harm and a sense of security, opportunities for early learning, and responsive caregiving – like talking, singing and playing – with parents and caregivers who love them. All of this is needed to encourage developing brains and fuel growing bodies.

Not Comparable 

“I don’t think it is possible to compare life at the time of the workhouse with that now but, suffice it to say, that children were not valued or given the opportunity they needed to reach their potential. The level of struggle and deprivation at that time was such that children were not seen as individual rights holders, and I think to a certain degree we can all understand that”

He added that given the nature of this festival, he was not there to give a history lesson “but the establishment of the Irish State is a turning point, in my opinion, in recognising children, and considering their needs. Or at least it should have been”. 

“When the Irish State was established children were not individually recognised in the constitution. They were almost invisible. The failure to fully recognise children was, unfortunately, an indication that a new Irish State would not mean a new approach to looking after our children.” 

Dr Muldoon (above) said the mistreatment of children over the past hundred years, has been shameful, persistent and for too long, hidden. 

“The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, also known as the Ryan Report was established in 2000 to hear evidence of abuse from people who were in institutions run by the Irish State. The report was comprehensive and outlined in shocking detail, the scale of physical, sexual and emotional abuse suffered by children in institutions run by a range of Catholic Orders but which were funded and inspected by the Department of Education. “Abuse was reported by over 1,000 men and women in over 200 residential settings between 1914 and 2000. The settings included industrial and reformatory schools, children’s homes, hospitals, national and secondary schools, day and residential special needs schools, foster care and residential institutions, including Magdalene laundries. The report identified some 800 known abusers.”

He went on to say that the scale of the abuses suffered by the children is breathtaking in terms of its severity and apparent commonality. 

(Above: Children's Ombudsman, Dr Niall Muldoon contribution was the keynote address at the opening of the 2023 Allingham Festival, which was held at the Abbey Arts Centre in Ballyshannon) 

“We can never protect every child from harm, nor can we guarantee that their rights will always be respected. It is our duty, however, to make sure that the systems of accountability and the legislation that protects them recognises the inherent value and humanity of any child, irrespective of their environment.”

“One area where Ireland’s treatment of children was exemplary”, he explained “and which I believe has resulted in the transformation of Irish society has been the prioritisation of education for children. The Irish State made a real commitment to children’s education with the introduction of free secondary education in September 1966.” 

He outlined the development of children’s rights internationally and at home through the League of Nations and the United Nations, later culminating in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that was agreed in 1989 and which Ireland ratified in 1992.

At this stage, in the 90s as the level of abuse suffered by children continued to be exposed and come into the open, pressure mounted on the Irish Government to protect children, and to recognise their rights when the first Minister of State for Children, Austin Currie, was appointed in December 1994, who also proposed the establishment of Dr Muldoon’s Office, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office, in 1996. 

“This was an important period but it became clear that recognising children’s rights in and of itself was not going to be enough.

“The Ombudsman for Children’s Act was signed into law by the President in 2002 and came into force in April 2004, establishing my Office under Emily Logan – the first Ombudsman for Children.”

The referendum on Children’s rights was held and passed in 2012, amending the Constitution and addressing the invisibility of children, he said while pointing out that there was much opposition to this referendum and a judicial review meant it was three years later before it came into effect.

Tusla, the Child and Family agency was established in 2014 as part of a major reform of child protection and welfare system and Ireland’s first national policy framework for children – Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures – was also published in 2014 and the first national framework for children’s participation in decision-making was published in 2015 -    a world first also). Hub na nÓg, which is the national office that supports Government Departments, State agencies and non-governmental organisations to give children a voice in decision-making, was established in November 2017.

“I know that has been a bit of a whistle-stop tour through the history of children’s rights in Ireland but it is important to put into context where we have come from before we can fully appreciate where we are.”

He agreed that this country is now in a place where children do have a platform but where their voices are still not being given the consideration they deserve. 

“This is truly evident in the housing and cost of living crisis that is impacting thousands of children across this country.”

“The Government’s response to the housing crisis included the introduction of Family Hubs - purpose built or specifically adapted premises to house children and families who are homeless. Family Hubs are an alternative to hotels and B&Bs. 

“Children told us about what it is like to share a room with their parents and siblings, what it is like to go to school from a Family Hub, to study and do homework.”

He explained that the housing crisis has collided with the cost of living crisis and an increase in the population to make matters even worse. Children and their families are competing for housing in a high cost market. 

“And throughout all of this children’s voices are still not being heard because children are not considered, in their own right, in housing legislation. They are seen as a dependent of adults, their own individual needs are not recognised. 

“I have been calling for a change in legislation to rectify this for some time, as well as the inclusion of the right to housing in our constitution.

“We need to listen to children, to understand their experiences and to hear their views to make things better. I know the housing infrastructure is in crisis across the country but until we fully consider children it will be difficult to find a long lasting, sustainable solution.

(This is an abridged version of Dr Muldoon’s excellent and learned contribution to the 2023 Allingham Festival )