Mr. Tony Silcock:

I thank the Chairman. It is nice to be here, and it is good to meet Dr. Farry. One of the things that is burning in my heart is who youth workers are and what is the purpose of them. One of the things we do quite well is that we get into the messes of young people's lives. We are one of the first professions to actually do that.

One of the skills of youth workers is going on long-term transitional journeys with young people from their childhood into adulthood. We are the first point of contact for many of the young people, not the social worker, police officer or care worker. They come to us to see whether they can get support, care and unconditional positive regard.

Dr. Farry mentioned schools and the associated division. I would go a little further than he did. While I believe the school system needs to be different and changed, there is still a large number of housing estates in Northern Ireland that are completely Catholic or completely Protestant. I live in the Colin area in west Belfast. The nearest city is Lisburn, to which there is not even a bus although it is closer than Belfast. I would go further that Dr. Farry and say there is a division around housing. The peace walls in Northern Ireland have got bigger since the Good Friday Agreement came into effect, not smaller, thus separating communities even more.

Senator Currie talked about the transgenerational impact. We have young people who do not think the same as their parents. They do not have the fear their parents have of going into another area. They do not have that anxiety or stress. Young people are agents of change. I completely agree with Deputy Conway-Walsh in that regard. The best thing about young people is that they want to change. They do not want to keep living in the past; they want to move forward. They see a brighter future and new vision for the north of Ireland or the whole island of Ireland.

One of the really successful aspects of the programme was that it was co-designed by young people. Nothing was put in place until they rubber-stamped it. Young people need their voices heard but they also need to be listened to. The same applies in respect of our schools, housing estates, bus routes and taxis. Our first port of call is determining what our young people think. Thankfully, they are going to be the generation that will take this on. Therefore, it is vital that we take their voices and opinions on board. However, I would go a little further than Dr. Farry regarding the divided space. I think it is about much more than school. There are many more questions to be asked about that.