The Ombudsman for Children has said the continuing rise in the number of complaints received by his office last year suggests State bodies still have a long way to go towards fully respecting and promoting children's rights.
Dr Niall Muldoon said almost one quarter of the complaints related to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, which he described as internally inconsistent from area to area and in terms of how issues are dealt with.
The Children's Ombudsman received almost 1,700 new complaints last year - a 3% increase on 2015.
Almost half related to education, reinforcing Dr Muldoon's concerns about the quality of schools' responses to complaints.
This is a problem he expects to be addressed if a Bill currently before the Oireachtas becomes law.
Almost one quarter of complaints related to Tusla, which the Ombudsman says manifests clear internal inconsistencies.
Dr Muldoon says that, three years after its foundation and despite initiatives to identify children's needs and strengths, the agency is still primarily responding to crises.
While acknowledging its need for more resources, he also calls for better planning.
The Ombudsman's team found that homeless children with significant disabilities or medical needs were not always prioritised by housing administrators and today's annual report highlights an urgent need to ensure adequate provision of family-friendly emergency homeless accommodation.
It says other worrying complaints concerned the adequacy of general supports for children with disabilities and the experience of some children with mental health issues trying to get help, especially at times of crisis.
