The children's charity Barnardos has criticised the level of services for children in Ireland, which it says is among the worst in Europe
The criticism is contained in the organisation's annual review for last year.
Speaking ahead of the publication of that review, Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said: "In relation to a whole range of necessary children's services [like] dental services, speech and language therapies, we lag well behind what would be considered best practice in other European countries."
Elsewhere, the Barnardos review said the most recent EU figures showed that one-in-seven Irish children are affected by poverty and almost 150,000 are living in consistent poverty.