Ms Bernie Meally:

You are looking for a person who, with the very busy lives we all have, is willing to give up a number of hours a week. We are looking for more long-term commitments rather than short-term commitments. That can be a challenge for people. We are all busy. We have families, jobs and other responsibilities. You are asking people to give up their time. Within youth work, you are asking people to have a particular interest in young people and to be engaged. You are looking for people with a specific set of skills and sometimes it can be quite daunting. Not everyone is comfortable with teenagers. Some people can feel intimidated and find that quite challenging. A large number of supports is put in place by organisations such as Foróige and similar youth work organisations to train volunteers to the highest standard, to ensure safeguarding of young people and to ensure that there are really good and interesting programmes relevant to the needs of young people.

There are always challenges, but we have a presence in more than 500 communities throughout the country. There are always people within a community who are willing to engage. It is about trying to motivate others to come along and engage with the right people at the right time.