Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 June 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Young Social Innovators: Discussion

Ms Rachel Collier:

Yes, we cut across different Departments, a bit like social innovation itself. We cut across the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Education. The latter Department, through the Dormant Accounts Fund, is trying to help us to scale up the programme and introduce it in more post-primary schools. We also see an important role for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in the youth participation sphere. Additionally, the Department of Rural and Community Development is a major player and supporter for us because of the generation of the voluntary effort among young people in particular. That is a very important in the context of the national strategy on volunteering as it gets young people involved. Much of the time, their involvement and work as volunteers are not captured. It is important for us that those young people begin to get recognition for the voluntary work they are doing.