Mr. Patrick Burke:

I will field some of the questions to the most relevant person.

Rural isolation is a huge issue for young people around the country and, obviously, transport is a critical part of it. Youth Work Ireland has almost 5,000 clubs mainly located in rural parts of the country; for example, Kildare Youth Services has between 20 and 30, while in County Donegal there are up to 50. These clubs are critical to the life experiences of young people. It is possibly their only opportunity on a Friday night to meet their peers, relax and engage in some positive learning also. Often in social policy the emphasis is on investing in programmes that work with young people who have difficulties or that see young people as a problem that must be solved. Instead, both of our organisations make it clear that we work using what we call an asset base approach, which simply means we see young people as a huge resource, hugely resilient and more than capable of organising their own lives and communities. They really want to be part of the community and clubs are a very important part of that dynamic. I come from a rural village and 30 years ago was involved in my local club. We had the GAA and the local youth club. We were all involved in both, but those who did not like sport got involved in the youth club. It was a hugely important part of our community and I have no doubt it shaped who I am today in terms of the work I do and the values I hold. Organisations such as ours which support the training and development of volunteers to facilitate these clubs are critical.

With regard to youth political engagement, we would certainly welcome a debate on the age at which young people can vote. In the recent referendum we lobbied for it to be held on a Saturday and welcomed the fact that it was. Despite the fact that the number who voted was not as high as we would have liked, we continue to be of the view that it is critical for youth participation that Saturday voting continue. It means young people can get home from college and become engaged in the process.

My colleague, Mr. Gilmore, will talk about the LGBT issue, while Mr. McLoughlin might deal with some of the health issues. My colleagues from Northern Ireland might speak about third level education and the Balkans project.