Mr. Cohen Taylor:

With regard to the key ask around meaningful engagement, one of the key asks from the Northern Ireland Youth Forum manifesto is around a Minister for youth, which we have here in the Republic but not in Northern Ireland. This would be a specific Minister with responsibility for young people. That responsibility is currently spread over a number of departments. That is very important to me.

On a personal level, it would be remiss of me not to mention the 729 days and 11 hours that elapsed between the resignation of the then First Minister to the appointment of a new First Minister and deputy First Minister. I feel that while we are here today talking about the need to prioritise young people's view and the delivery of services, the most important thing is that we continue to have stable government. I believe reform is needed to ensure the Assembly never collapses again and so that young people can trust and count on their politicians to deliver for them.

That is my view. The committee has also heard the key asks of the youth forum. The North South Youth Forum will be holding a North-South youth peace event in Belfast City Hall on 23 March. There are lot of views among young people across this island and it is important that the committee hears not just ours, but those of as many young people as possible. That has been a theme today. The Northern Ireland Youth Forum came here with the key ask of meaningful long-term engagement. Engagement with the committee and it taking the proactive steps of coming to events like that and supporting the provision of funding for quality youth work will help to achieve that. I thank the members for their time.