Niamh:

I hope everyone present is well. As the Cathaoirleach mentioned, my name is Niamh. I am 16 years old, from County Waterford and a member of the young advisory team here presenting the assembly today. I will deliver a short opening address and facilitate a questions and answers session with the other young people, but feel free to ask me questions as well.

With me today are five amazing young people, four of whom are assembly members and one of whom is a fellow young adviser. They will introduce themselves shortly. I will take this opportunity to thank the parents and guardians of these young people for their continuous support of the assembly and, of course, for attending today.

We are joined by two of our wonderful project leads, Katie and Diarmuid, whose continuous hard work, support and enthusiasm made the project inspiring. I extend my heartfelt thanks to them, to the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for his continuous support, and to each member of the committee for having us here today.

I speak for the entire assembly when I say that young people can look to this project as a source of hope and comfort.

Before we begin today's proceedings, there is something I would like us all to remember. This assembly focused on change being made by the children for the children. It sought to make a better world for our youth and to uphold their environmental rights, and to make enough change for children to voice their opinions without fear. The drive for this change lives in each of us here today and in all of the rest of our assembly members and young advisers.

We envisage a better world. This has been brought to life with the assembly, where the voices of children and young people are a central part of the solution to any problem. This is not simply about ticking a box to say we listened. It is about the children of today who tremble in fear for their future and the children of tomorrow whose burden these issues of climate change and biodiversity loss should not be to bear. Our youth, both present and future, must be protected, for where lies the way forward if not in them? When their drive for action is vanquished, where lies our hope? When they despair, how can there possibly be a light at the end of this long and dark tunnel? There is no future if not in them.

Without further ado, I will hand over to our other young people here today for them to introduce themselves.