Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this motion tonight and I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I applaud the efforts he and other Ministers and Departments have made in respect of this issue. I would not be as negative as the previous speaker, for whom I have great respect and with whom I served in the Seanad. Deputy McHugh always used the opportunity there to set out the concerns of young people and was and is a great defender of young people's rights. I am slightly disappointed by the negative stance he has taken tonight because he talks about filibustering and charade. In fairness to him, he did an admirable job in adding to that charade.

Notwithstanding that, it is most important for us to have regular and ongoing discussions in this House about youth and young people. During the era in which I grew up, which is not totally different from the era in which Deputy McHugh grew up, the approach to children was that they should be seen and not heard. Thankfully, this approach has changed in a very real way. I suppose it has changed because of changes in the culture and society in which we live and because there is more assertiveness among young people. There is greater interest among young people in taking a stake in society from a much younger age. There is a great depth of understanding, knowledge and interest in taking a role in society among them. As guardians and legislators, it is incumbent on us to recognise that and identify clear ways to involve young people in a real way in the decision-making process.

I believe that a discussion in this House, regardless of whether the Gallery is packed with various interest or lobby groups, has the capacity to change the thinking of the Minister of State and his Cabinet colleagues who will, ultimately, be responsible for providing the funding and developing the strategies and mechanisms by which the concerns of young people are addressed.

I was very taken by Deputy Finian McGrath's contribution where he talked about the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, and what she has done over the past number of weeks in respect of the big ballot. Deputy Joe Carey and I were fortunate enough to be invited to a school in north Clare where we had an opportunity to discuss at first hand the concerns of young people as part of that big ballot. Over and above the importance of the family, the importance of play and recreation was made very clear to us. It is in discussions like this that we can bring about the kind of policies that will ensure the needs of young people are met in that regard.

There has been a great movement in terms of the facilities that are available. It is not that long ago since those who have just spoken were growing up. There was certainly a great lack of facilities during this time. The kind of investment that has been put in place through the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, and the Ceann Comhairle would have been very much to the fore of that during his tenure in that Department. There is an old saying that one can take a horse to water but cannot make it drink. In respect of sporting facilities, the Government has certainly provided the well from which children can drink. One has only to travel around the country to see that, which is a very welcome development. We should not rest on our laurels and believe that this is the only input we can make because we can make many others. I agree with Deputy Deenihan regarding the establishment of Dáil na nÓg and Comhairle na nÓg. While they are important, they apply to an elite group associated more with the debating societies than the real needs of young people. The challenge for us is to continue to promote Dáil na nÓg and Comhairle nanÓg while identifying the needs of youngchildren.

The establishment of the Office of the Minister for Children under the Minister of State with responsibility for children in 2005 demonstrated the Government's commitment to addressing the issues facing young people. The continued debate in this House and the effort to identify the needs of young people through that office is the mechanism for delivery of services.

At the younger end of the scale there has been recognition of the importance of playgrounds. Local authorities have received resources to address this, a welcome development. Young people must be seen as stakeholders in society. In doing that we must identify the root cause of their issues rather than dealing with symptoms. Many of these debates refer to administering ASBOs and preventing young people from drinking too much, smoking and taking drugs. We must look deeper and identify a set of policies with a greater level of participation. Children are becoming active in society and flying the nest at an earlier stage. We must educate them about life issues at an earlier stage and this is where we are falling down. We treat nine to 12 year olds as young children even though they have advanced more than I did at the same age. They have a greater understanding of what happens in society but do not have the pillars to protect them from the ravages of society. We have examined the provision of play facilities for younger children.

There was a time when we referred to providing facilities for teenagers but it is too late when they get to their teens and this should be examined for children aged nine to 13 years. The health promotion unit at the Department of Health and Children is doing good work and is developing practices and procedures for dealing with young children. Those areas include sexual health, mental health, suicide prevention, which is prevalent, alcohol and drug abuse andobesity.

The latter is part of a changing culture. When I went to school very few, if any, children suffered from obesity. Diet was very different before the advent of fast food. The advent of both parents working changed matters and children had a better and more balanced diet because of the better level of parental input. We could examine our tax code in this respect. Tax individualisation has created a greater acceptance of both parents working and has perhaps encouraged it. I am not sure this is a policy we should push on parents. We should reward those who make the sacrifice to remain at home to rear children in the formative years, allowing children the best opportunity and to develop to live and deal with difficult issues.

The abuse of drugs and alcohol is putting our society off kilter. It has the capacity to damage children irreparably. We have heard of unruly children and perhaps we were a part of that group at one stage. Children are at risk of losing their path in life through drug and alcohol abuse and this may prove difficult to regain.

We need early intervention programmes for those at risk. Society, and the Government through its agencies, must identify children at risk. In many cases it is a parental issue, perhaps involving the grandparents. There may be instability and a lack of understanding of how to resolve problems. The State has a role in intervening.

I agree with calls for greater funding for youth cafés. Teenagers put forward this as a solution to the notion that they have nowhere to go. This applies particularly to those not interested in playing hurling, football or camogie. In mentioning these sports I should recognise the tremendous efforts of my club Tulla in advancing to the Munster club hurling final. The club encourages young people to participate in sport. Youth cafés are expensive because they are needed in areas of towns where property is expensive. The drink and drug free environment allows them to congregate, or hang out as they now say, in an environment without the pressure to consume alcohol or drugs.

I compliment the Government and the Ministers with responsibility for health, sport and justice for tabling a comprehensive motion. While it is not overly expansive on projects under way, it clearly sets out a framework for the delivery of the services required to ensure our young people grow into mature adults in a changing environment.

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