Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister was on the Zoom conference the National Youth Council of Ireland had a few weeks ago. That was excellent. There were two young people, in particular, who addressed it.

Now that we are coming into lockdown two or phase 5, the plan is to keep schools open. The reality is that school is one important part but there are all the other social activities. Anyone who hears me speaking knows I am always talking about counselling, mental health and play therapy for kids but we also need normal, fun activities. That is why it is more important than ever that there is funding and supports there. It is not good to have so many people of a certain age group nearly locked in their rooms. They are not actually locked in their rooms but they are at that age where they are not kids and they are not adults. They do not know where they are, they are trying to figure things out for themselves and it is really difficult. I noted that the youth council said in its presentation that many people ended up not engaging, after a while, with the online supports. One can only do so much online before people miss normal human interaction.

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