Dáil debates

Wednesday, 21 November 2007

12:00 pm

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

It should be, yes. I apologise to Deputy Shatter.

I am pleased to state that during the past five years, the OMC has become a centre of excellence for participation by young people in decision making and champions the importance of giving young people a voice with regard to other Departments, State agencies and non-government organisations.

In recent years, my office conducted consultations with young people on a number of issues of national importance, including involving children and young people in the appointment of the Ombudsman for Children, the development of the national recreation policy, the taskforce on active citizenship, the age of consent for sexual activity and the development of the Irish youth justice strategy.

Comhairle na nÓg are youth councils established under the national children's strategy in all 34 city and county development board areas of the country. They give young people a voice at local level and an opportunity to influence local policy and planning. Young people are elected to Dáil na nÓg through their local Comhairle na nÓg.

The effective development of Comhairle na nÓg is cited in Towards 2016, as a key innovative Government measure and will be one of the major priorities of my office during the next ten years. During 2006, the OMC established an implementation group to develop and improve the operation of Comhairle na nÓg throughout the country. Proposals from the implementation group have been approved and a funding and enhancement strategy aimed at developing good practice and building capacity has been put in place, with additional funding of €400,000 allocated to this measure this year. To date, 30 out of the 34 Comhairle na nÓg have applied for funding under this scheme. An independent evaluation process for the scheme has been put in place by my office.

During 2008, the implementation group will develop a five-year strategic plan for Comhairle na nÓg and establish a national steering committee to oversee delivery of that plan. Local steering groups will also be established, with strong links to the children's services committee once they are in place.

Dáil na nÓg is the national parliament for young people aged 12 to 18 years and takes place once a year. A consortium comprising the National Youth Council of Ireland, Foróige and Youth Work Ireland hold the contract to run Dáil na nÓg from 2006 to 2008, in co-operation with the Office of the Minister for Children. It is widely acknowledged that Dáil na nÓg has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2001. Successive independent evaluations of Dáil na nÓg have informed the implementation of changes and improvements over the years.

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