Ms Michelle Gildernew, MP, MLA:

The delegates are welcome and it is good to see them here. I especially welcome Ms Redpath because I have worked with her previously. I thank the delegates for their presentations in which they covered a lot of bases. I know the difficulties surrounding young people who are not in employment and training. It is hard to reach young people, especially those leaving care and in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. There are many issues facing young people but one of the greatest is access to transport. At the end of Ms Redpath's presentation she talked about the Translink discount. A lot of young people do not have access to public transport because they live in a rural community. The greatest obstacle is to get to their nearest town to catch a bus. I have worked on the issue of rural transport and tried to ensure young people can access it. Young people with disabilities find it a particular problem, while young people are excluded from many activities because they do not have access to transport. For example, young people in Garristown cannot access services in Enniskillen because it is too far away. Our challenge is to make services more accessible and that campaign must continue. Many young people feel disenfranchised in more ways than one because of access issues. I appreciate that there is co-operation in this regard, but it could be enhanced and thus benefit young people across Ireland.

It is my party's policy to reduce the voting age to 16 years. We also believe it is important to have young people engaging at 14 and 15 years of age and talking about who they want to vote for. By the time they reach 18 years they may be a little jaded and cynical about politics. It is also important that young people have their electoral mandate recognised. Changing the voting age would be a huge step and a vote of confidence in our young people who get a bad press most of the time. Things are tough and I am not only referring to drugs and alcohol but the cost of insurance.

I am particularly concerned about young people who discover that they are gay. Statistics show that a young male will keep his homosexuality a secret for five years, or between the ages of 12 and 17 years. That must be a lonely place for such individuals to be in. I ask the organisations present to keep up the good work, but I also ask them to examine the issues of isolation and living in a rural community, especially for hard to reach and vulnerable young people.