Mr. David Garrahy:

I thank the Senators for their invitation to be here today. I represent the European Youth Forum which advocates for the rights and the interests of tens of millions of young people across Europe.

We do that through 104 different youth organisations. I am based in Brussels. I am an Irish person who has lived there for the past eight years. In that period, I have gained a profound appreciation for what has changed socially and politically, especially for young people, in this period of great change.

Another Irish person who lived and worked in Brussels in a period of great change was the former commissioner for education and trade, Mr. Peter Sutherland. In 1985, he launched the first ERASMUS programme, which created one of the EU's greatest success stories. Today, ERASMUS has a budget of about €2 billion every year. Because of it and other similar programmes, 10% of European students spend some of their studies abroad. In the period from 2014 to 2020, ERASMUS will provide opportunities to more than four million young people to study, train, gain experience and volunteer abroad. It is especially relevant for young Irish people because 56% of young Irish people now access higher education. That is due in no small part to a lot of support that EU funding for higher education infrastructure has given to the Irish people over the years.

My own secondary school in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare, benefited from one of these programmes in 1994. It is a programme that is now part of ERASMUS Plus. In 1994, I visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg on a school trip. Speaking there with many people from different backgrounds such as Spanish, French and Italian - or sometimes gesturing because as 14-year olds we did not have the language skills necessary - brought home to me at a very young and influential age the real benefit of the vastness of Europe and how big the different cultures and approaches are. I was as excited back then as I am now about the potential there is when people explore different identities, exchange and look at different ways of approaching problems and try to implement them together, which is what the EU is all about.

I mentioned that four million young people will have accessed ERASMUS by 2020. One revealing statistic is that one million of those people will meet their life partner through ERASMUS. One in four ERASMUS students end up marrying, partnering or living their lives with someone else from a different cultural background. It is estimated that there are already one million of what they call ERASMUS babies, that is, children that have been born because of cross-cultural exchange programmes such as ERASMUS. It brings home the fact that ERASMUS is a fundamental way for Europe to start discovering and knowing itself. Europe does not exist; it has to come into being. This knowledge must be renewed every generation. I think young people in the UK recognise this, which is why between 2007 and 2014, the numbers of young UK people accessing ERASMUS increased by about 115%. That is a huge increase.

As we all know, however, the result of the Brexit referendum on 23 June 2016 put all of this at risk. There are knock-on effects not only for young British people, but also for young Irish people. Young Irish farmers may see their markets disappear, Irish students may not be able to go to the university of their choice if that university is across the Border, for example. Irish citizens in Northern Ireland may not be able to access their EU rights. Just before the referendum, I spoke at a British Chamber event on young people and Brexit. I said something then that I still believe, which is that there is no upside to Brexit for young people.

Young people in the UK are profoundly pro-EU. Some 73% of 18 to 24 year olds and even 61% of 25 to 34 year olds voted to remain. It was the overwhelming votes of the over 65s that tipped the result narrowly in favour of the leave vote. We are in a moment of profound uncertainty right now. Depending on what happens in the UK general election today, who knows what will happen with the EU-UK negotiations. However, there seems to be a bit of a phoney war going on right now. That will settle down when the negotiations start happening. There are already a few issues and a few potential solutions that I will try to highlight that are very clear right now in terms of what young people are going to face.

The economic effect will be huge, especially if there was to be an exit of the UK from the EU without an agreement. Young people always tend to be the first hit by unemployment in terms of an economic downturn. Ireland must look to ensure continuing investment in training for young people. Planning for this is vital. There are a huge amount of funds, such as the globalisation adjustment fund and the youth guarantee to help Ireland ensure that, if there is a downturn in the economy, young people will still have the necessary skills for the job market. The common standards and laws that protect young people from harm, both online and in real life, will be brutally unpicked by Brexit, with potential impacts on the safety of young people and cross-Border co-operation in the future. In terms of family law, data protection laws and the European arrest warrant, there are huge impacts on Irish-UK co-operation. The two governments should immediately enter into discussions on police, legal and judicial co-operation after Brexit.

As I mentioned, young farmers could be hit with export tariffs and see their markets disappear. Some 43% of our beef and dairy produce goes to the UK. An Bord Bia and other State agencies should be focusing on developing markets in the EU 27, especially in the central and eastern European markers, which have not been a traditional focus but are developing with very strong momentum.

The future for cross-Border exchanges and access to higher education could be in jeopardy. I mentioned ERASMUS. With regard the future mutual recognition of qualifications, are we sure that a degree in Ireland will still be recognised in the UK in two years' time, for example? There is an opportunity here for Irish education institutions to develop co-operation with EU universities. There are a lot of projects and partners that the UK is no longer able to provide support for. With our strong higher education infrastructure, Ireland has an opportunity to step in and be part of projects and exchanges that will broaden the minds of educators and students alike. Language learning should be mandatory in schools up to leaving cert level.

Cross-Border co-operation is one of the biggest worries and fears that young people face. We have to ask the question: in the future, will young people look and see the people across the Border to Northern Ireland or to the Republic of Ireland as the other? This has never been the case for many young people growing up today in Ireland. What about the rights of Irish citizens, and therefore EU citizens, who live in Northern Ireland? We need to invest in developing and continuing the links across the Border, especially between young people from different backgrounds and communities.

The contribution that young people can make is in terms of youth work and sport, which can play a very important role in that.

Ireland has one of the youngest populations in Europe, with one third aged under 25, a proportion which is increasing every year. I spoke about borders earlier. It is the same situation across Europe. Under-25s are called "generation Maastricht" because, with that treaty, borders disappeared across the EU. Young people developed a more open mindset. They did not see borders or obstacles but rather saw opportunities. It was the same in Ireland. Our own Border mainly disappeared at this time due to the peace process. Seamus Heaney once described his own young generation in a way which is also applicable to young people today. He said that they had "intelligences brightened and unmannerly as crowbars". The ultimate solution for young people today - for this "generation Maastricht" or "generation Good Friday Agreement" - is to enable them to take that crowbar to division, separation and divisiveness and to continue to enable them to live together.

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, hosted a forum on the impact of the UK's exit from the EU on children and young people, which was very timely and useful. I sent information on this as a background document in January. The forum reflected a number of the issues I raised today about employment and protection of young people. Other issues reflected were the maintenance of peace on our island and the continued dialogue between communities, which is so important for young people.

I thank the Senators for taking the time to listen to me today. I am pleased to go into more detail if there are any questions on the issues I have raised.