Mr. John Lawlor:

Scouting Ireland was established as a successor to the historical scout organisations in Ireland in 2004. Since then, it has thrived and currently it is at an all-time high in membership. Membership has been growing at a rate of 4% year-on-year for the past seven years. Based on the most recently available Central Statistics Office figures, we currently reach 5% of the youth population, that is to say, those between six and 17 years of age. This figure is extraordinary by comparison with a corresponding figure of 0.9% with France. Our research officer, Ms Kelly, will put context around these figures presently to provide insight to the impact we make for young people.

The 12,000 adult volunteers referenced by the chief scout represent 30% of all adult youth volunteers in the sector. No other organisation is comparable in scale or comes with this number of trained and vetted youth volunteers working week in, week out with children. Our ratio of professional staff to volunteers is the leanest and most efficient in the sector, with 35 staff to 12,000 adult volunteers.

The objectives and programmes of Scouting Ireland are aligned to the national policy framework document for children and young people - Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures - and to the national youth strategy. The targeted national outcomes of being connected, being respected and contributing, achieving in all areas of learning and development, being active and healthy, having economic security and opportunity and being safe and protected from harm are well served through the scout educational method and programme.

We strongly believe that the role of non-formal learning, as delivered through scouting, and its complementary interaction with formal learning in the development of young people will become increasingly important as we embrace what is generally described as 21st century learning. There is clear evidence that positive out-of-school activity that promotes empowerment and leadership has a powerful effect on outcomes for young people. Significantly, recent research has demonstrated the positive long-term effect on mental health of involvement in scouting. The combination of our scouting method, our work, increased membership and youth engagement is a testament to our 110-year method.

We have waiting lists for membership in most of our existing groups.

Like any organisation or sector of society, we have challenges. As an organisation, we are finding it increasingly difficult to support our volunteers and youth members in the way we would like due to the cost of implementing additional compliance requirements in areas such as safeguarding, the national qualities standards framework, NQSF, charities regulation and governance to give four examples. Mr. Noel O’Connor, our operations manager, will speak briefly on this.

Like most organisations, the impact of Brexit will be significant for us. As Ireland’s only all-island youth organisation, it becomes an even bigger challenge. We currently have 60 groups operating in the North. Access to ERASMUS funding for our groups, access to Peace and Reconciliation funding which helped us build our world class centre facility at Castle Saunderson on the Cavan-Fermanagh border, and our good working relationship with the Scout Association UK which also operates in the North, all have to be addressed in light of a Brexit. That is not to mention our significant number of volunteers and youth members who cross the Border on a weekly basis to attend meetings. How will a hard Brexit affect them?

The issue of identity and our youth members seeing themselves as EU citizens is also significant. Our uniform carries a strip which has on it the EU flag and our members in Northern Ireland proudly wear that badge. It is not an inconsiderable issue that this right may be stripped from them. In the true "Late Late Show" fashion I will have one for everyone in the audience to remind the members of the significance of EU citizenship for our youth members in Northern Ireland.

Before I pass over to Ms Dubheasa Kelly and Mr. Noel O'Connor, I want to say that we are a project-based organisation and have been engaging in several large projects, which is worth bringing to the attention of members, as they may better create a sense of what it is we do as a youth movement. Our youth employability scheme is a project of which we are particularly proud, and we hope to replicate and expand on it in the future. Our Lelievlet boat-building project based in Limerick city aligns with the Government’s national policy framework objectives. The project aims to provide young people with skills such as welding and woodwork and to give them FETAC standard qualifications in order to prepare them for work. These are young people in the needs category, not in employment, education or training.

Scouting Ireland is also working on a number of programmes aimed at supporting refugees in Ireland. We run a Refugee Access Programme in conjunction with the City of Dublin Youth Services board aimed at integrating unaccompanied minors into Irish society. We are also establishing links with direct provision centres around Ireland to break down the stigma that exists in regard to these centres.

In 2015 Scouting Ireland won an international bid to host the World Scout Moot to be held in 2021. This ten-day experience will see 6,000 international scouts aged 18 to 24 from more than 120 countries travel to Ireland. It is our hope to showcase Ireland in the best possible manner but perhaps more importantly use the experience of hosting such a world prestigious event to develop our young people and our organisation. The single most important objective in winning and hosting this major international event is to use its preparation and its successful delivery as a platform for transformational development in Irish scouting. It is that for programme of development that we actively seek the committee's support today. It is a wonderful opportunity to have the World Scout Moot come to Ireland. It is an opportunity we want to ensure leaves a lasting legacy.

Those are some of the projects on which Scouting Ireland is currently working. I will now hand over to Ms Dubheasa Kelly and Mr. Noel O'Connor before the members hear from our youth representatives who will give them a sense of what scouting really means to young people and the impact it has on their lives.