A complaint made to the Ombudsman for Children's office about a 15 year old girl who was placed in an adult psychiatric ward was just one of 1,622 complaints included in its annual report for 2018.
The number is a slight drop on 2017 figures but the issues included are consistent with previous reports.
The majority of the complaints related to education (42%) , followed by family support care and protection (24%) and health (16%).
78% of complaints about public services for children were made by parents followed by professionals (7%) and extended family members (5%).
In one specific case study included in the report, a 15 year old girl was placed in an adult psychiatric ward
The Ombudsman for Children's office intervened after a complaint from her parents and she was placed in an adolescent wards.
In another case, A child with severe epilepsy was having difficulty attending school because he wasn't allocated a full time Special Needs Assistant.
After the school complained, the OCO intervened and the National Council for Special Education put an SNA in place.
Director of Investigations at the Ombudsman for Children, Nuala Ward, says people shouldn't be afraid to speak up if they're not happy: 'I think it's really important for citizens of Ireland to stand up and make complaints, don't be fearful, a lot of public services want to make things right and you can improve things not only for your own child but for other children'.
