Ms Gabrielle Cummins:

As to what we can do with the research, communication is our bread and butter. We are aware that young people are getting a bad rap, so we have been using much of the funding that we receive from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, to create projects that shine a spotlight on the positive side of what young people are doing. For example, one of the projects that we just completed had to do with life after the leaving certificate, through which we brought young people on air and let their voices be heard. Cutting out the middle man, they were telling us exactly the challenges that they had experienced. They have missed major milestones like their debs. What is sad is that they are just accepting it as the way of life now. We asked them whether they would like to have their debs in September or October, and they said "No" because they viewed it as just being something that they had missed out on. My debs were not yesterday - I do not know about the committee members - but debs are a momentous milestone that everyone should have.