Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a great honour and pleasure to have the witnesses here today. It is great to see young people having a huge interest in politics and the way our countries work. This is the future. When I was growing up, I wished there were forums like this. I am not sure I would have been allowed to be on them, but I am delighted to see the witnesses have an interest. It is important that they work with decision-makers because they are the voice of young people. Sometimes in politics and in life we are so busy that this forum, these ideas and that voice are needed. That voice is very welcome, especially - it is part of the brief - as modern day communications are more important now than ever. When we make decisions and write policies, we want the views of the witnesses on board.

I will look at three different areas. I was in Ballymun. I was the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, and health and well-being. We had some very good engagement. I recognise the witnesses' issues. A lot of promises were made over the years. I am not sure whether we can deal with them here but those promises need to be delivered. Did the witnesses meet their local council members or local Members of the Oireachtas? It is something but those promises should be kept.

Regarding the witnesses' comment that their Astroturf football pitch was once a hub of activity but was sacrificed, could they try to get the local authority to find out whether any other land is available? I would advise the witnesses to go through their politicians. I understand that there is a good TD here from Louth. I will leave it at that.

The area in which I am really interested is disinformation. It is a significant issue. The witnesses brought me back to my past. I recall how when people wanted information, they went to their local library and ordered a book. It came in a week later but now it is with them in the space of seconds. Some 30 or 40 years ago, I never thought this would be available but it is there now and is a significant asset, resource and opportunity but there are issues. We must make sure that we work together so that there is a quality of information. People are struggling to keep up, which is why the Government is trying to fund local newspapers and local radio stations and the national media. I think a lot of people agree with this. They are trusted sources of information. They can challenge but people need a trusted source of information and we need to do a lot more.

I am a big supporter of integrated education. My good friend, the late Baroness May Blood, was very involved in integrated education. I visited Strangford and Hazelwood so I was a great supporter. Education in Northern Ireland is very good across the board but I have a soft spot for integrated education.

It is great to see Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland coming together along with east and west because even we as politicians are so busy. We have an event in Stormont next Thursday. If some of the witnesses want to attend they are more than welcome to come along next Thursday at 12.30 p.m. We bring politicians, business leaders and members of the committee together. It is really just about getting together. A total of 22 or 23 Members from the Houses of the Oireachtas are going to it but we will not have that full engagement unless someone is a member of this committee or the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. The willingness is there on both sides to work together. One of the two major projects on the island of Ireland that have brought more people from the South up North and from the North down South is Titanic Belfast. People say, "Well I went to the North. I went to Belfast". When people ask them where they went to in Belfast, they say, "I went to Titanic". The other one is Tayto Park. What is it called now?