Dr. Tara Logan Buckley:

I thank the Chairperson, Deputies and Senators for inviting us to contribute today. I am the director of clinical support at SpunOut, Ireland’s youth information and support platform.

For 20 years, SpunOut has worked to build evidence-based and person-centred digital solutions and safe supports for young people over 16 years of age. We do this through our wide and varied range of services, each of them a testament to the power and potential of technology to foster positive connections. At SpunOut, we meet young people where they are at 365 days a year and connect with over 1.4 million young people a year with high-quality youth information, a 24-7 messaging support service, elearning courses and online tools connecting young people to personalised mental health information, resources and support. So far this year, we have facilitated over 50,000 conversations through Text About It, our messaging platform, providing support from a calming chat to crisis intervention. This digital service delivers early intervention that prevents escalation, easing pressure on overstretched emergency departments, the child and adolescent mental health services or CAMHS, and adult mental health services.

In 2025 alone, young people have visited our website 1.1 million times, accessing youth information, with the most popular topics being managing mental health, learning about neurodiversity and eating disorders. This information, which is both youth-proofed and validated by experts, provides high-quality, trusted information in an era of fake news and clickbait.

This year, our new Navigator service has also facilitated more than 28,000 young people to access personalised resources and signposting to mental health supports. Having supported young people for over two decades, we know how digital connection, when done correctly, can provide support and hope when everything else feels out of reach.

One of SpunOut’s core values is innovation. We will always champion the free availability of information and technology where it stands to help, support and inform young people.