Published on
Local Councils receive funding to promote young voices “Children and young people must have a say in local decision-making.”Statement by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone
Dr. Katherine Zappone, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, today
announced the first payment under her Department’s Comhairle na nÓg
Development Fund 2017 to 31 Local Authorities.
Under the Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund of €680,000, each Local
Authority is awarded a maximum of €20,000.
Comhairle na nÓg are child and youth councils in the 31 local authority
areas of the country and are the recognised national structure for children
and young people (under the age of 18) to have a voice in the development
of local services and policies.
The Comhairle na nÓg gets young people’s voices heard in two ways: working
on topics that are important to young people; and acting as a consultative
forum for local decision-makers.
Announcing the payment Minister Zappone said: “I believe that children and
young people have a right to a voice on decisions that affect their
individual and collective lives and Comhairle na nÓg provides a structured
way for their views to be heard and acted on by adult decision-makers.
I am very pleased that my Department is in a position to provide this
annual funding and I would like to thank all those Local Authorities who
also fund their local Comhairle na nÓg.”
The Minister went on to say: “The topics chosen by the young members of
Comhairle na nÓg are a good indicator of the critical issues for young
people around the country. Each Comhairle na nÓg picks the topics that
matter to young people in their own locality and these include raising
awareness of mental health issues, improving rural transport, youth
homelessness, cyber safety, LGBT awareness campaigns and challenging
stereotypes.”
Many local agencies consult with their Comhairle na nÓg to get the views of
young people on the development of services and policies, such as Local
Economic Community Plans (LECPs) and local development strategies, heritage
plans, recreation policies, library plans, policing plans and the location
or type of sports facilities in the area. Comhairle na nÓg are also often
asked for submissions on local policies or to take part in public
consultations.
The Coordinators of Comhairle na nÓg are supported by three regional
Participation Officers funded by the Department of Children and Youth
Affairs.