Mental health, bullying, facilities for young people and sexual health are among top issues identified by the Comhairle na nÓgFrances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has today addressed the Comhairle na nÓg National Showcase in Croke Park.
This is the first-ever Comhairle na nÓg National Showcase, at which delegates from the 34 local Comhairlí na nÓg will showcase their work on issues of importance to young people.
Minister Fitzgerald stated: “As Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, I encourage children and young people to play an active role in civic society. My Department actively supports young people’s engagement in local decision-making and one of the ways we do this is by funding the 34 Comhairle na nÓg.
For almost 10 years my Department has worked closely with the City and County Development Boards and the Local Authorities to bring the 34 Comhairle na nÓg to where they are today. The result of this hard work is that Comhairlí na nÓg are now a vibrant and respected forum for voice of children and young people locally. Local politicians, policy makers and service providers know what Comhairle na nÓg can do and many have experienced the benefits of working directly with them as a consultative and participative forum.”
Commenting on today’s event, the Minister stated: “I commend all the young people involved in showcasing their work on the cutting-edge issues identified as important by the Comhairlí na nÓg.”
The issues being addressed at today’s event include youth mental health and bullying, both of which have emerged as top priorities.
The Minister welcomed the initiatives developed by the young people in response to these important topics. These initiatives include a phone app giving information on positive mental health, tackling cyber-bullying, mentoring programmes in schools, positive body image campaigns, school anti-bullying weeks, combating homophobic bullying and mapping mental health services
The Minister stated that she was “very pleased that today’s event gives young people the opportunity to seek information from and ask questions of key policy makers in four Topic Zones on mental health, sexual health, facilities for young people and engaging with decision-makers at local level.”
Aoife Watson and Luke Casserly, members of the Comhairle na nÓg National Executive, gave an overview of the action they are taking on the top recommendation from last year’s Dáil na nÓg, to find ways for teenagers to influence decision-making in the Dáil, the Seanad and local authorities. “On the 14th November we are meeting the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection and on 22nd November we are meeting the Oireachtas Committees on Health and Children,” said Luke. “We are meeting these committees to inform them about the work being done by Comhairle na nÓg around the country and seek their support for responding to the improvements we want to improve the lives of young people,” added Aoife.
The Minister concluded:“The Government is committed to ensuring that young people’s voices are heard in the development of public policies that affect the lives of children and young people. It makes for better policies and better service delivery and enhances democratic and civic participation. It makes sense.”