Seen and Heard: Don O'Leary on 10 years of the OCO

Don O'Leary, director of Cork Life Centre, a voluntary organisation offering an alternative learning environment to marginalised young people, talks to Louise Denver about the Ombudsman for Children's Office and the impact it has had for the centre.

Photo from the Irish Examiner

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Don O’Leary; I’m Don O ’Leary, the Director of the Cork Life Centre.

Question; It’s the tenth anniversary for the Ombudsman for Children's Office, what are your views on that?

Don O’Leary; It’s been a fantastic support for the children of the country since it started and it’s acted as a watchdog, not just as a watchdog but leading the way and i think forcing politicians to pay due respect to children which is a fantastic achievement. Also the way they’ve open the Ombudsman to Children. A children’s office without children being present wouldn’t be an office for children and i think Emily Logan has done a fantastic job by making the Office open so i’m looking forward to the next ten years, there’s a lot of work after being done but there’s a lot more to be done and pressure has to be kept on the politicians who actually control the funding for this so, a lot of good work to be done but more to be done.

Question; And working with Cork Life Centre, what successes have you noticed that are particularly important for you?

Don O’Leary; You know, just having someone that you can go to when all else fails, when the state hasn’t been living up to it’s responsibilities in relation to caring for kids, just having someone who you can go to who can use their voice which is a very powerful voice and I think that the Office, and I think it’s the Office as a whole, it’s important to have a strong leader but I think it’s the office as a whole, has been a tremendous influence for the good and advocating for kids.

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