Ms Eve Lindsay:

My pronouns are she-her and I am speaking about the redevelopment of Ballymun. Ballymun Regional Youth Resource, BRYR, is a service operating in the community of Ballymun, working with young people aged ten to 24 and providing ongoing support in their personal development through relationship-focused approaches.

BRYR’s vision is one where all young people in Ballymun are able to have a wide range of positive experiences that support their true sense of identity, realise their potential and participate as full and active citizens in a secure and peaceful society; know their rights and have these rights protected and promoted; understand their responsibilities to self and others; know that they are valued, understood and involved; and feel safe and supported. Having engaged in this programme, we have been glad to learn and have a better understanding of the challenges and complexities faced by young people across communities and across borders.

As part of our research, we looked at the social regeneration of Ballymun. We now understand promises were made to the community that included investment in housing, leisure and amenities, and community, and the redevelopment of a shopping centre on a now vacant plot of land.

These promises were made over many years and politicians have continuously pushed back these developments and have not followed through on the promises or commitments made to the people of Ballymun. We now believe the key to building on North-South relationships is investment in young people and in our areas. It is through this investment that young people’s basic needs can be met and following this, they can begin to develop relationships with others, such as between North and South.

Our key requests to the committee are to encourage investment in the Ballymun area and to follow through on promises made to the community. Children, young people and adults from the community should be put at the heart of the process and their voices should be heard as this will promote ownership and pride in future development and investment. It is with this investment that we can develop the young people in our community further and engage further in cross-Border initiatives on leadership, peacebuilding and good relations, like the North-South Youth Forum.

I thank committee members for taking the time to listen to me and my group's research to date. As part of this process, we have been meeting weekly in Ballymun Regional Youth Resource, BRYR, and engaging with the other groups as part of the North-South Youth Forum, which has been a lovely experience. I will now pass to Hannah and Sara from Louth.