Ms Dannielle McKenna:

That is okay. I suppose the reason I am using that language is because I see how young people are being treated. I see that things have become so individualised. It is individualisation for personal growth rather than for collective change. The term "value for money" came in and we began to ask what it means to value a young person's life, a person who may not be ale to survive. There arose a serious distrust between the sector and the Department and also between the Departments and the sector. Considerations of value for money arose that should never have arisen. Dr. McMahon used the term "money for value". If we flipped the concept in that way, we would be talking about something completely different. We have seen the State invest in particular communities or different places where they believe in things that will be productive and grow and bring economic growth. We do not see that investment in communities.

I remember seeing Mr. Emmet Kirwan on "The Late Late Show". His piece was around the idea that it was not blokes in tracksuits but blokes in suits who destroyed the country. We are continuing to suffer from austerity, and money is continuing to be paid for the mistakes that were made. That further marginalises the communities in which we work. Young people from working-class communities were the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. What happened? Nothing happened. We did not see anything. We have learned that the youth sector already has a very small proportion of funding. When I use the term "neoliberal capitalism", I do so because the funding that is being pumped into areas is seeking economic growth rather than being assigned to youth work that nourishes, loves, cares for and deeply responds to young people who are having very difficult lives. It is against what the State is investing in. Youth work deeply cares for and loves young people but we do not get that investment because of that prioritisation.