David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to receiving information from the Minister on the supports that are being made available. I note that this week, The Irish Timeshad a supplement entitled Fighting Words in which there were some very interesting poems written by young people. I would be interested to know what the Minister is doing to encourage and support young people in the development of poetry. Some of the stuff is really good. I will quote a few lines from one of them. A young lady called Ciara Nic Eoghain, who is aged 13, wrote a poem about sitting in the garden. The last part reads:

I wish I could freeze this moment,

Hold it with me forever.

But no, all things must change,

So now I say goodbye,

To this moment caught in time.

That is powerful stuff. Some of us could sit and reflect on it from time to time. Again, many parliaments around the world and other institutions recognise poetry, poets in residence and poet laureates. I encourage colleagues to perhaps think about this and support the proposal.

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