The last government failed to address child homelessness and “unacceptable” waiting lists for mental health services, while children living in direct provision have been “inexplicably left behind,” according to the Children’s Rights Alliance (CRA).
The umbrella group of more than 150 organisations campaigning for children’s rights released its annual report card on Tuesday, grading commitments made in the programme for government agreed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party.
Progress on various commitments was graded from A, meaning it made a “real difference to children’s lives,” to F, meaning steps were taken that “undermine children’s wellbeing”.
It handed down a fourth consecutive E grade for youth mental health services, saying although the number of children admitted to adult psychiatric units reduced significantly to five in 2024, there was an “unacceptable spike” in the number of children on waiting lists (3,830).
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The last coalition received a D- for failing to address the rise in child and family homelessness, the CRA said, noting that a “staggering” and record-breaking 4,510 children are now homeless.
While there are “no signs of housing supply keeping pace with demand”, it commended an improvement in the number of families prevented from entering homeless services.
The last government’s commitment to end direct provision, meanwhile, reflects the “sharpest decline in performance overall”, receiving an E grade, down from the previously awarded C+.
Although the increase in the number of those seeking international protection presented an “insurmountable challenge,” the CRA criticised the Government’s continued use of emergency accommodation, in which almost 7,000 children lived last year.
It said the accommodation, which is not subject to health watchdog Hiqa inspections, “does not comply with the Government’s own National Standards that are designed to protect children’s rights”.
Meanwhile, it said conditions in permanent Ipas centres deteriorated, with inspections revealing overcrowding, pests and child safeguarding gaps.
Such safeguarding gaps resulted in “serious child protection cases,” including one in which the location of four children was unknown for 15 days while their parent was hospitalised, it said.
The CRA noted success in some areas such as early childhood education and care, food poverty and the expansion of the free schoolbooks scheme, for which it received an A+ for delivering “beyond its own commitment”.
While it received a B- grade for online safety, this was a drop from the A grade previously awarded.
Despite “monumental progress made in previous years”, it criticised the online safety code as “disappointingly weak” saying it gives online platforms “far too much scope and discretion to design their own rules, leaving vulnerable children exposed to harmful and illegal content.”
CRA chief executive Tanya Ward said while the last government “surpassed expectations” in areas such as the free schoolbooks expansion, children living in direct provision have been “inexplicably” left behind.
“This is one of the areas where the government really did fail,” she said, particularly the failure to introduce the international protection child payment which would provide “some relief”.
The failure to produce enough accommodation, particularly social housing, has resulted in a “record number of children in the homeless population”, she said.
Child homelessness, which can affect school performance and cause developmental delays, potentially has “lifelong consequences”, she added.
Traveller children, who feature highly in the homeless population, “have been failed possibly most of all when it comes to housing”, said Ms Ward.
She said a lack of progress on some commitments made by the last coalition is “simply not good enough”, adding that children 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. Actions will speak louder than words,” she said.
