Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)

I thank Deputy Farrelly for introducing the Bill. Dr. Farrelly and I were lecturers together in the department of applied social studies in Maynooth, and one of the areas he worked on in particular, as was spoken about, was the issue of youth work. His research has been in this area and he is one of the foremost experts in the country on it. We really need to take seriously the evidence base understanding and the experiential understanding of young people and what they need and what they are looking for.

I want to speak very briefly about what is facing our young people today. Look at the things they talk about in particular. Mental health is a major issue. There is so much isolation and people feeling undervalued. I welcome the young people in the Gallery. They have a sense of not being listened to and being unheard. This is not just happening in Ireland; it is happening across the world. The mental health of our young people is declining. We need to engage them seriously in developing solutions so we can help address the mental health disaster affecting our young people.

Part of this is the issue of housing, their future and what future they see in this country. Surveys show that young people see emigrating as their future. They do not see a future here. There is a real opportunity to give young people hope. We give them hope by respecting them and valuing them as equals. A key way to do this would be to give them the right to vote, and give them the ability to partake and be valued as equal citizens. I see this in my constituency, working with youth services in places such as Finglas and Ballymun. I see the disconnect with young people. They look at politicians and the Government and all they see are older people making decisions that seem to make their lives worse or at least do not help them. This would be a real way of valuing young people as equals.

I remember being a student at 17 and going to university. One of the first political things I did in my life was to organise a petition to try to get the date of the general election changed from a Friday to a weekend. I felt it was disadvantaging students from engaging in politics. We need to look at the ways in which we run our elections and referendums to ensure they increase participation, particularly for young people. They need actions that show we value them and care and want to give them a stake in society. This would be a key area.

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