Children's Express reporters assess the chances of Northern Ireland's Commissioner for Children Bill living up to expectations...
Children are failed by the system. They are failed at home. More than half of all children in Northern Ireland are living below the breadline or at risk of the poverty trap. So who can they turn to when everything goes wrong?
An idea hatched two years ago by supporters of children's rights was to establish a Children's Commissioner for Northern Ireland. It was envisaged that an Office for a Children's Commissioner for Young People (OCCYP) would appoint a champion - someone that all young people could look to for help.
An Assembly Bill to make the OCCYP a reality has had its second reading in the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, Children's Law Centre director PAddy Kelly believes this bill has serious flaws.
"There is a core weakness in the bill. The emphasis is on the role of Ombudsman, with the focus on reviewing safeguard mechanisms as opposed to addressing breaches of rights and failures to protect," she said.
"Effectively, in respect of a number of his/her functions, the OCCYP is a 'fall back' position, with the Commissioner being required to second-guess other institutions. This presents a number of problems."
Another major sticking point is that the Commissioner cannot investigate any complaint when it falls within an existing statutory complaints system, thereby disadvantaging the child hugely.
"Hypothetically, if a child's rights are abused, for example in an insitution, they will not think 'The watchdog mechanisms have failed to pick up this breach. I am going to go to the Children's Commissioner to have him/her review these arrangements.'
"It is not appropriate, or acceptable, to require children to go through a chain of institutions before reaching the Commissioner. Our experience shows that children will not do this. They need a 'one stop shop.' "
Young people's views are black and white about the issue of how much power their champion should have. Cathal Hannan, 11, said: "Politicians aren't listening to young people, so a Commissioner for Children is a brilliant idea because the Commissioner would actually listen to young people and then right situations that are wrong."
Daniel Monaghan, 16, said: "What politician is interested in a member of society that doesn't have the power to vote?"
Drew Mikael, 19, said: "The commissioner must have the powers associated with the job and must have good representation of the total majority of British or Irish children."
Such straightforward simple opinion might be guffawed at in the corridors of power, but it should cut to the quick of the issue. When consulted, young people say they want a Commissioner with clout. If that is what they want, then why not give it them?
Welsh Children's Commissioner Peter Clarke has been in post for more than a year. His original powers were limited compared to what has been proposed for Northern Ireland. In his time he has pushed for, and got, greater powers for his office. But he feels that his role is still restricted.
"One thing that they did leave out in the Act was they decided not to give me powers of access to places like children's homes," he said. "I think it would just be better if there was a power so I could have the right to go in and talk to children wherever they might be.
"I'm actually waiting to see exactly what powers the Commissioner is given in Northern Ireland in order to see how they do compare."
The waiting continues. While everyone in Northern Ireland seems to agree that a Children's Commissioner is a great idea, the details of the bill remain dangerously uncertain.
About the teamThis story was produced by Connor Scullion, 15, and Michael Leathem, 16. It was published in the Irish News.
