Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Brady for sharing his time with me and am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this motion. I wish to pick up on one of the points made by Deputy Brady, namely, consultation with young people. This is a relatively new idea. I was brought up at a time when many households held that young people should be seen but not heard, although our household was one where everybody spoke on everything.

I commend the Ombudsman for Children, Ms Emily Logan, and the young people who participated in her survey which demonstrates that, throughout the provinces, the main concerns of young people are families and care. I found that interesting. Mr. Fergus Finlay is doing excellent work with young people through the organisation Barnardos. There was criticism from some speakers who demand more action from the Minister of State with responsibility for children. He has assembled all the schemes, outlets and ideas relevant to young people and we will have action on those issues.

The main cause of concern for me is that no matter how many good schemes or innovative projects we have, they only reach a certain percentage of the youth population. This means we always have some who do not get involved. This is often because of a lack of parental interest in what is going on or lack of finance to purchase the required gear for something such as sports activities. I suggest to all involved in this area that they should watch out for those who cannot, through no fault of their own, participate fully. These are the people who fall through the cracks and whom we read about some months later when some disaster has befallen them.

Young people are often incorrectly portrayed as know-alls or smart. I noted from the Dáil book that was launched last night that there are 18 second level teachers and 13 primary teachers, 31 in all, in the Houses. Anybody who has ever taught, particularly at second level — I say to Deputy Brady that I am not decrying those who taught at primary level — learns very quickly that children have a facade of being wonderful and smart, but they are not. They want to be like their peers, to appear brave and courageous and give the impression that they understand everything, but behind that facade they are hurting. Often they cannot find someone in whom they can confide and to whom they can tell their story. The business of childhood, growing up and services for young people are hugely complex. Children cannot be put in a box, given A, B, C and D and then emerge as perfect adults.

I commend the Minister of State on what he is doing in the Office of the Minister for Children. It is a very good idea. There were attempts in other Governments to bring together the various Departments but it never actually worked. It is the setting up of the office which is important and the far-seeing role of the Minister of State. I hope you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and I can make an impact in the committee on the rights of children when it is up and running.

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