Dr. Patrick J. Burke:

There are a number of projects out there. I am delighted the Senator mentioned Galway. It is the only substantial city in the country where we do not have one dedicated space for young people. It is a scandal that needs to be addressed. I agree with the Senator on that. In some research we are carrying out at the moment, we are looking at the models that are there. For example, in Leitrim, there are a number of heritage buildings.

There is an old station house and an old courthouse. We obviously want to keep those as heritage buildings, but they have been reimagined by young people as really creative and lovely youth spaces. That involves co-operation between ourselves, as a member youth service, the local authority and the LEADER programme. That is one model. In Cork, there are developers that are not only providing crèches and community spaces but also youth spaces. That is another model. Some of the churches are donating buildings. The challenge is developing those into appropriate centres and youth-friendly spaces. There are models out there, but what we do not have is a national strategy. There is no one looking at this holistically and saying this is how we move forward with all those models.