Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the debate on young people. A month ago an RTE "Prime Time" programme re-examined the provision of psychiatric services for young people, following up on a programme 12 months previously which had exposed the glaring neglect of the services provided by the State. It was found that nothing had changed in that time. Waiting lists for psychiatric services for children are up to three to four years long, even though we are aware that early intervention is vital as it increases the chances of a cure for the problem. Allowing a child in need of psychiatric services not to be treated for such a long period leads to the problem becoming chronic. It would be helpful if the Government recognised early intervention as a cost saving measure. Early intervention ensures people will not need adult psychiatric services when they reach the age of 18 years. Therefore, early intervention is essential.

The Government must examine its performance in the delivery of services to young people and how young people see themselves in Ireland in the 21st century. I refer to a study carried out of how young people see their treatment. According to the report, Inequality and Stereotyping of Young People, published by the Equality Authority and National Youth Council of Ireland, they see their treatment at the hands of adults as being unequal and unfair. The research found that among young people there was strong agreement that they were being stereotyped and treated unfairly by adults in general. It found that the media were regarded as particularly prone to stereotyping young people in negative ways by constantly associating youth with crime, deviance, delinquency, drug and alcohol problems, sexual promiscuity and general disorderliness. The predominant view of young people was that politicians dismissed them as being unimportant. There was a view that politicians were responding both to media stereotyping and helping to fuel it.

The views of young people as to how their teachers perceived and treated them were mixed. In general, they felt most strongly about not being listened to and not having a say in how schools were run. They perceived that there was a poor relationship with the Garda and that gardaí had a poor opinion of young people.

There is a need to consult young people on issues that relate to them and to involve them in decisions. It does not come as a surprise to me that there is this attitude. I have always argued that young people today face pressures about which previous generations never knew. They are coping with many sources of stress and many experience difficulties because of these pressures. We must examine why they sometimes feel so alienated from society, the political system and official religion, even though most young people are spiritual. Many turn to binge drinking or worse as a response to their feelings of alienation and the spiritual vacuum often present in modern day life. This demands a political and media response. In seeking to find solutions to the problems facing young people, however, we must be sensitive to the possibility of negative stereotyping and seek to avoid it.

Suicide is the chief cause of death among young people under the age of 25 years. More people die by suicide than in road accidents. We must seriously examine why so many young people, at a time of unprecedented prosperity, are so disenchanted by life that thousands present at accident and emergency departments each year, having attempted to take their lives or self-harm.

Social change has brought with it many serious challenges. There is the fragmentation of the family, allied to the increase in marital breakdown. Young people believe they have nowhere to turn. Clearly, those who fall out of the education system are most vulnerable. Many of the cultural icons and authority figures of the past such as the church and the political establishment are no longer inspirational in the eyes of the young. The report to which I referred also makes this clear. It is worrying that young people feel so separated from adults when the role of each generation should be to lead and protect the one that comes after it.

It is also of great concern that young people feel demonised by society. We should all seek to understand why this is so. Politically, we must demonstrate the will to recognise the equal rights of young people and develop a greater sensitivity to their particular needs.

See this speech in context