Mr. Mark McNulty:

I will address the question about engaging those who are on the periphery, because the drugs issue, to be honest, is not my area of expertise at all.

When it comes to engaging people on the periphery, as well as keeping people out of engaging in problem behaviour around drugs, youth work is key. That needs to be sold and said multiple times here. The majority of people who benefit from member organisations of NYCI, by a good majority, although I do not have the statistics to hand, are from disadvantaged areas. When you look at how we engage them, it has already been done through youth work. We just need to invest in that, continue to widen that, as well as widen the number of people who have access to that. There is clear case for that. For every euro invested in youth work, approximately €5 is saved by the State in the long run. There are a number of studies to back that up.

It is important to point out that those who excel at the highest level in the National Youth Council of Ireland, those who have become involved, who have stayed involved and who have gone on to amazing things often come from disadvantaged areas. However, the opportunities are there at the community level. People come into youth centres in their local areas.