Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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As a rural Deputy, I agree with Dr. McMahon. We have our own challenges and the biggest challenge, as the witnesses have said, is funding. The lack of funding is a huge barrier. Our young people are our future and we need to invest in the future. That is a huge concern for me.

When it comes to young people's participation and involvement, is that becoming a challenge now? Our guests spoke about not having enough places and the cost of renting out rooms. With the cost-of-living crisis, has that become an issue? Is Garda vetting an obstacle for volunteers? I see in my own area that there are huge challenges in that regard.

I want to talk about young people and the arts. We have VISUAL in Carlow, which is probably one of the finest arts centres in the country. On Thursday and Friday this week, Carlow Youth Theatre will be back on stage for the first time since Covid, doing a double bill or two-show production. It is so great to see these sorts of activities for young people coming back again, right across the country. That said, there were challenges for the theatre group. For me and for many parents I have spoken to, the arts provide an amazing way to engage with young people and help them to develop personally and socially. That is an area in which I am very much involved.

Our guests spoke about young people arriving into services hungry, which is very worrying. At the moment, as per the programme for Government, all DEIS schools have a school meals programme. Not all DEIS schools provide hot meals but they all at least provide sandwiches, drinks and so on. As part of the programme for Government going forward, all schools over the next few years will have a food programme and that is so important for everybody. No matter what area one works in, one does not want a child arriving in to a youth service after school or in the evening who is hungry. The Government really has to make sure to address this.

I want to mention a few groups in the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency that do really important work. I do not know if our guests are aware of the Carlow Regional Youth Service, which is excellent. We also have the Vault Youth Project, with which I do a lot of work. We have the Young Irish Film Makers group in Kilkenny, which is absolutely excellent. We also have Barnstorm Theatre Company in Kilkenny and Carlow Youth Theatre who have really come back on track. We also have Striking Productions, a theatre company set up by Robert O'Neill. He has so many young people involved in theatre and song and has a show coming up soon. It is great to see these things happening again after Covid, which had a hugely negative effect. I worry because all of us lived a different life during Covid. I worry about the young people and the challenges they faced during Covid. I know that all Deputies in the House agree that it is so important that we make sure all of these youth services are funded properly. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has spoken about all of the great work done during Covid but we really need to invest. We must invest in our young people, in youth workers and in the great services that they provide. We also need to invest in the volunteers. I know many volunteers who are passionate about this area and are heavily involved in it. That is another area that is important.

Dr. McMahon spoke about the emergent new policy framework for children and young people. She said that in addition, youth work requires a specific policy framework of its own to harness and protect its distinctive contribution. I ask her to elaborate on that. Dr. McMahon also said that youth work organisations need the support of Government to help address this crisis. Does she believe we are in a crisis? I am really tormented about this. Are we at the stage now where we are in a crisis? I know there have been challenges but we must ensure that in challenging times, the Government invests in our young people and in youth services. We have to invest. On education and schools in the context of youth work, what role could schools play in this area? Does the Government need to invest more in education? In what areas do our guests believe we could do more?

Again, I thank all of our guests. Their opening statements were inspirational. As the Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, we absolutely have a duty of care to all our children and young people and it worries me to hear that we are now in a crisis. That really worries me.

I do not know how many questions I asked. I think I got in about ten.