Ms Carol Hyland:

I thank the committee for inviting me and my colleague Mr. McCarthy to speak today. Our service was established in 1986 in response to the heroin epidemic that ravaged our city. Since then, we have continued to work with families and young people who engage in and are affected by drug misuse, antisocial behaviour, early school leaving and unemployment. These are often deep-rooted in intergenerational issues. Our funding comes through the local drugs task force and the City of Dublin Youth Service Board. Many of our young people suffer adverse childhood experiences. When we tackle the puzzle of antisocial behaviour and the connection with young people, what is rarely mentioned is that young people can equally be the victims and perpetrators of this behaviour. Psychologists and child therapists have also told us that all behaviour has meaning. What is this meaning? Is it that children are just badly behaved or are there more underlying issues at play? In our experience working with children and young people for many years, it has become apparent to us that children are inherently good. However, internal factors such as psychological issues and genetics, along with external factors such as childhood traumas both inside and outside the home, their interaction and lack of interaction with services, poverty and multiple existential disadvantages have an influence on children as they grow and develop.

In addition to these factors, services located in the community, which are best positioned to work with the needs presented by these young people and have a relationship with them and their families, are hugely under-resourced. Capacity remains a central factor in the level of intervention these young people receive and can often determine if the measures taken are preventative or an intervention, where both are clearly a necessity. As Ms Canning mentioned, we also worked with restorative practices and we take a trauma-informed approach when working with young people, particularly in terms of antisocial behaviour. I thank the committee for listening to our opening statement. We have a lot more to contribute and are open to any questions throughout the meeting.