Mr. James O'Brien:

Dia daoibh agus táim buíoch as an bhfáilte a cuireadh romham freastal os comhair an Choiste um Ghnóthaí an Aontais Eorpaigh. As a member of Wexford Comhairle na nÓg, I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak to the committee.

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend the 25th annual European Youth Parliament national session in Cork. I and many others each worked with a group of like-minded individuals on a committee to research, discuss and form a resolution. The committees debated and voted at general assembly to decide whether the resolutions should pass. A wide variety of topics was discussed, including the housing crisis, unpaid internships, artificial intelligence, or AI, the introduction of tighter restrictions on gender-based violence, the lowering of the voting age to 16 years and many other topics. The European Youth Parliament has proved to me beyond doubt that every young person in Europe deserves to have his or her voice heard when it comes to major issues such as these. These issues will ultimately shape the future that we are expected to and eager to lead.

While Comhairle na nÓg is an amazing tool for its members that serves to help young have their voices heard where they otherwise might not be, it is only representatives of young people's voices and the opportunity is not available to everyone. For many young people, having any kind of influence on the issues that directly affect their lives seems totally impossible.

Young people face problems that are not being addressed nearly as much as they could or should be and that will only grow exponentially over time. If young people had a platform to have their voices heard on issues such as prejudice and harassment towards members of the LGBTQ community, the way the education system and school curriculum are laid out and the housing crisis, it would go a long way to reduce friction between young people and those who have the influence to decide their future. Given the atrocities taking place in Ukraine, a lack of friction is exactly what we need.