The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, works to make sure that children (everyone under 18) have their rights respected in Ireland. One part of his job is to listen to what children think. You can get more information about Niall and the work of the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) at www.oco.ie.

Children have 42 rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. You can find more information at www.oco.ie/itsyourright about your rights.

What is mental health?

Mental health is about your thoughts and emotions. It is how you think and feel about yourself, about others and about the world around you. Some people can manage their thoughts, emotions and relationships well by themselves, while others need help to understand how they think and feel and how this makes them behave.

We know that many children in Ireland experience mental health difficulties and some need help to manage these difficulties. We also know that some children find it hard to get the help they need. Being able to get good quality health care services, including mental health services, is one of your rights under the UNCRC.

We want to hear from children about their own mental health and about mental health services. This will help us tell policy-makers what children think about mental health services. That is why we are asking you to fill in this survey. We are not asking for your name or address or any other information that would tell us or anyone else who you are or what you think.

It is important that we hear from as many children as possible whether your mental health is good, you have had difficulties in the past, or if you are dealing with mental health difficulties right now. Your views are important to us and we hope you will share them with us. You also need to agree to take part so don’t forget to tick the box below and ask a parent or guardian to do the same!

If you are the parent/guardian of a child under 18, it would be great if you could ask your child/children to fill in the survey themselves, or by supporting them to tell us what they think by reading the questions to them and entering their answers if needed. You also need to give your consent for your child to take part (see below). If you have more than one child under 18, each child should fill in separate surveys.

The survey will stay open until midnight on 7th December 2022.

Please find alink to the survey below:

Mental Health Survey

Thank you for your help!