NIALL MULDOON is Ireland’s second Ombudsman for Children. He was appointed to this
position on February 17th 2015 by the Head of State, His Excellency, President Michael D.
Higgins, following an open competition and interview process involving children and
adults. As Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Muldoon is directly accountable to the Houses of
the Oireachtas.
NIALL MULDOON
OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN
DUBLIN, IRELAND
In his previous role as Director of Investigations at the Ombudsman for Children’s Office
Niall oversaw the handling of almost 1600 complaints per year made by, or on behalf of,
children and young people about public bodies such as the HSE, Tusla, Schools and
Voluntary Hospitals. He ensured a culture of independence, impartiality and child
centeredness underpinned the work at all times.
Niall is a Registered Counselling and Clinical Psychologist who has worked in the area of
Child Protection for almost 20 years. Prior to joining the OCO in 2012, Niall spent five
years as National Clinical Director of CARI – a Children’s Charity providing therapy and
support to children and families, from all over Ireland, affected by sexual abuse. He spent
ten years working in the Granada Institute providing therapy, risk assessments and
support to adults who had sexually offended against children and to those who had been
abused as children. He was regularly called upon to provide expert testimony in the
courts. Niall also worked within the field of Intellectual Disability for a number of years
and indeed completed his Masters on the Development of a Relationship and Sexuality
Programme for Adults with Intellectual Disability.
Academic background: B.Sc. Psychology, London Metropolitan University, M.Sc.
Counselling Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, PhD, University College Dublin.
ABSTRACT | PROMOTING AND SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN’S RIGHTS AND WELFARE:
THE EXPERIENCE OF THE OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN’S OFFICE IN IRELAND
The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) in Ireland has been in existence since 2004
and in that time it has taken over 11,000 complaints from or on behalf of children who are
unhappy with the way Public Bodies have dealt with them or with the service they have
provided.
Dr. Muldoon will give a history of the establishment of his Office. He will give an outline of
the functions of the Office, highlighting Policy, Education, Participation and Complaints.
He will provide examples of the work of each section of the OCO and how these functions
can interact to generate positive change for children. This happens when the OCO
recommends improvements in the policies, procedures or systems employed by the Public
Bodies. The importance of the UNCRC in the work of the OCO will also be discussed and
the work done to promote it across both the Government Departments and the public will
be highlighted. Dr. Muldoon will also give examples of where progress has been made in
children’s rights in Ireland and where more needs to be done.