Although the dissemination of information to schools is valuable, young people are more receptive to information gained in community-based education fora. This was demonstrated in Letterkenny in a community-based project run by youth leaders where there was not a formal school structure. Only through proper mechanisms, a Department of Youth Affairs, the full implementation of the Youth Work Act 2001 and the employment of hands-on youth workers in each area, whether urban or rural, will we be able to take a co-ordinated approach to long-term intervention. We are not listening to young people, we are not involving them and we are alienating them from society.