Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank all those who contributed to the debate. A number of themes have emerged, particularly the need for consultation with young people and increased participation by them in sports and other recreational activities. Deputy Curran referred to the proposal to develop youth cafés throughout the State. I was informed by him previously about the very positive and progressive programme run in Ronanstown in his constituency, which includes a youth café. I launched the national recreation policy last September, as part of which youth cafés will be rolled out throughout the country. A youth café is generally a relaxed meeting space for young people, which is safe, friendly, inclusive, tolerant and free of set rules. Young people from all backgrounds can engage in social interaction with their peers in a safe, drug free environment. Deputy Curran has validly pointed out that sports clubs work within specific parameters and, thankfully, in the past few years most of them have drawn down substantial funding through the sports capital programme. The GAA is the organisation with which I am most familiar. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Wall, served as chairman of the Kildare County Board for a number of years. We are all aware of the outstanding work done by the GAA and other sports and voluntary organisations. However, Deputy Curran is correct that a framework is needed for the development of youth cafés.

Since September departmental officials have surveyed existing youth cafés to establish vision, objectives, structures, governance, funding, staffing, accessibility and overall usage. I have also requested the national children's advisory council's support in the production of a toolkit and guide to setting up a youth café. Consideration is being given to how best to develop a coherent, structured programme for the development of youth cafés, as well as the most appropriate lead agency for the management and administration of a funding scheme. I am anxious to develop that proposal because some cafés such as those in Letterkenny, Waterford, Galway and Naas are organised and funded through Foróige and the local vocational education committee. The Health Service Executive has also been active in supporting projects but a formal flexible structure is required within which people will have set parameters to work.

I thank all Deputies for their contributions to the debate and wide-ranging views on issues that impact on young people. During the debate we have heard details of the difficulties and challenges faced by young people. However, we should not underestimate their resilience or the many positive aspects of young people's lives. I reaffirm the Government's commitment to the ongoing development of initiatives to support young people in their journey towards adulthood.

In my opening contribution I outlined in detail the Government's commitment to support the national children's strategy which sets out a series of key objectives to guide policy in respect of issues affecting children and young people over its implementation period. In particular, I emphasised how the actions of my office supported the achievement of the strategy's national goals in giving young people a voice in matters that affected them, in supporting research in order that their lives would be better understood and in providing quality supports and services. In the fora I attended at which young people put forward ideas, I was heartened by their enthusiasm and participation. Comhairle na nÓg and Dáil na nÓg must be better publicised among a larger cohort of young people, an issue the Department has addressed. Representatives of both bodies have engaged with the national media, through which it is hoped they will contribute articles. One or two journalists have offered assistance to them in drafting appropriate articles in order that they can get their views across and highlight the structures in place for them to be heard.

We are all keenly aware of the necessity of ensuring the views of young people are heard, their contribution to society is valued and their role as citizens fully recognised. The national children's strategy supported by the Government and its agencies leads the way in fully recognising the value of young people and in preparing them for adulthood. The ten-year framework social partnership agreement 2006-15 fully recognises the importance of children and young people and sets out a framework within which key social challenges that impact on them can be addressed. Provision has been made for the establishment of a national children's strategy implementation group chaired by the Office of the Minister for Children and comprising representatives of key Departments, agencies and organisations involved in the provision of services for children and young people. One of the main functions of the group is to promote the establishment of committees at local level to drive forward and oversee implementation of policies that will impact on young people. The group will also provide leadership and support in the implementation of integrated services and interventions for young people. Its work is ongoing and will positively influence developments and initiatives that impact on young people, including the development of a second ten-year national children's strategy for the period 2011 and beyond.

Young people identified the development of youth cafés in their areas during consultations with them on the development of a national recreation policy. I reiterate the Government's commitment in the programme for Government to the structured development of youth cafés, the establishment of which was identified by young people as their single greatest need during the consultations relating to the drafting of the national recreation policy, Teenspace, which recognises that youth cafés offer great potential for providing a wide range of developmental, educational and information programmes for young people. However, their development requires a cross-departmental and inter-agency collaborative approach. The launch of the national recreation policy last September provided the strategic impetus for the development of that approach and the delivery of youth cafés countrywide.

A small survey of 20 of the existing youth cafés has been undertaken by my office to establish their vision, objectives, structure, governance, funding, staffing, accessibility and overall usage. In addition, I formally requested the national children's advisory council's support in the production of a toolkit and guide to setting up youth cafés. Both of these processes will support the development of a coherent, structured programme for youth cafés which will be rolled out next year.

The promotion of positive recreational opportunities, as enunciated in the national recreation policy, can make an important contribution to young people's development and help to counteract the risks and harm associated with sedentary lifestyles. The World Health Organisation recognises the importance of leisure time activities for young people which can foster the adoption of other healthy behaviour, including the avoidance of tobacco, alcohol, drugs and aggression. In addition, aspects of young people's leisure time activities have given rise to social concerns in recent years. These include, for example, binge drinking, illicit drug use, juvenile crime and youth suicide. The national recreation policy will not in itself solve these problems. However, when combined with the policies and preventive interventions implemented by the Government, many of which have been mentioned, this policy could help minimise the risk of young people engaging in criminal or anti-social behaviour and avoid negative outcomes for their well-being in adolescence and adulthood.

Many issues relating to young people have been raised. We have amply demonstrated the ongoing and critical work being progressed across Departments to comprehensively address the issues that impact on their welfare and well-being. The Government is fully conscious of the needs of young people and committed to ensuring they are met through the series of measures outlined during the debate. I appreciate the varied and valuable contributions of all Members.

A recent Barnardos survey and a recent poll taken by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children points us in certain directions, namely, that young people need to be listened to. They have identified their priorities. It is up to us in government and as legislators to deal with the issues that the young people have identified. In the short time I have been in the Office of the Minister for Children those of us there are determined to ensure that we expand on the consultation process and the dialogue we already have in place with that age group.

I commend the motion to the House.

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