Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank An Taoiseach for his reply. I welcome in particular the establishment of the shared island youth forum view within the overall shared island initiative. I believe it is extremely important that decision-makers hear clearly the views, concerns and ambitions of young people. We must also ensure that we hear the voices from across all communities, North and South, and particularly from those who are less advantaged and who may unfortunately have limited educational attainment or skills to enable them to obtain gainful employment. By working the Good Friday Agreement, people of all age groups can contribute in a positive, ambitious and progressive way to the building of a much better Ireland for all, North and South, and also an Ireland that does not threaten anyone's political or cultural beliefs and traditions.

The one strong request that I would make of the Taoiseach with regard to this particular forum is to ensure that the voices of those less advantaged young people and their communities are listened to in all deliberations in this worthwhile initiative.

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