Ms Olive McGovern:

I thank the Chair for inviting me to attend this session of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. I am standing in this afternoon for my principal officer colleague, Ms Clare McNamara, who cannot be here at short notice due to illness. The committee has already received the submission of the Department. This follows on from a letter of response from the Secretary General to the committee in which the ancillary recommendation of the Citizens' Assembly that falls within the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs was addressed.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country, including those from disadvantaged communities. There are approximately 1,600 youth groups and clubs across the country, with an estimated membership of 89,000 young people, in receipt of funding from the Department under the local youth club grant scheme. The majority of these young people are in clubs affiliated to national youth organisations. Local youth clubs, along with each national youth organisation in receipt of funding from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, are expected to operate in accordance with the national youth strategy, which is a constituent strategy of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, BOBF.

The implementation of Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People has been ongoing across Government since its launch in April 2014. The national youth strategy, which was subsequently launched in October 2015, includes commitments identified by young people themselves. It builds on the youth-specific policy commitments outlined in BOBF. In line with current and emerging policy, the national youth strategy addresses the current socio-economic needs and aspirations of young people aged between ten and 24 years.

The implementation structures established by the Department under BOBF are overseeing the roll-out of the national youth strategy. Youth clubs and services have a significant contribution to make to realise the goals of the national youth strategy, as part of a cross-sectoral whole-of-society approach to supporting young people in their everyday lives.

One of the main objectives of the national youth strategy is for young people to enjoy a healthy lifestyle, in particular with regard to their physical, mental and sexual health and well-being. The Department also provides funding to the national youth health programme. This is a partnership operated by the National Youth Council of Ireland, NYCI, in conjunction with the youth affairs unit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the health promotion unit of the Health Service Executive. In 2017 the Department allocated €86,952 to the NYCI to support the implementation of the national youth health programme.

The national youth health programme provides a broad-based and flexible health promotion, education, support and training service to youth organisations and to all those working with young people in out-of-school settings. Through the national youth health programme, the NYCI has sought to develop the capacity of the youth sector and youth organisations to advocate on issues that affect young people and to develop evidence-based resources to support that work. The health programme works with practitioners across the youth sector to build knowledge, skills and expertise on a range of health areas, including health promotion, mental health and sexual health. This work is achieved through the development of a range of training and policy programmes.

Specifically with regard to sexual health and relationships, the national youth health programme provides training to youth workers within organisations and aims to strengthen the organisational environment for the delivery of sexual health programmes. The b4udecide training course is offered in conjunction with the HSE crisis pregnancy programme, and training and accompanying resources explore the concept of delaying early sexual activity among young people. A follow-on course for youth workers to the b4udecide training, entitled "Developing a Sexual Health Policy – Good Practice in Sexual Health Promotion", aims to strengthen the organisational environment for the delivery of sexual health programmes.

The Department is committed to delivering on both the commitments of the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures policy framework and those of the national youth strategy as they relate to prioritising the sexual health and well-being of children and young people. The funding provided by the Department, in conjunction with that provided by the Departments of Education and Skills and Health and the Health Service Executive supports young people around relationships and sexuality and provides access to timely and appropriate information.

If members have any questions, I can provide more detail or other information they may want.