Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, to the House. I have had the pleasure of seeing how she interacts with young people at first hand. She has a particular talent for listening to them.

We have heard much talk in this debate regarding the stereotyping of young people, and the report from the Equality Authority has been mentioned. Having gone through it, I found that one sentence jumped out at me. A young girl named Helen said that maturity did not come with age but with experience and other things. Many of our current issues and problems are blamed on young people in general, which is particularly unfair, and the riots on O'Connell Street spring to mind. It was automatically assumed that the rioters were young people. I was there shortly after the riot finished, and the vast majority of those present were adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s; there were even some in their 50s. We must tackle the generalisation discussed here today.

It is not only the media that stereotype young people. Gardaí, teachers and security personnel in shopping centres also do so. The Minister, the Government and their predecessors must be congratulated on the fact that they have gone out to ask young people's opinions. They have invited them to sit down with them and asked them their issues and what they feel they need. That is the key, and previous speakers have referred to it.

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Croke Park Conference Centre, where Dáil na nÓg was held. More than 300 young people from around the country were interacting with each other and discussing very complicated issues such as immigration and the problems experienced by gay and lesbian people. Ultimately, they produced suggestions, the Minister being on hand to listen to them. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who has specific responsibility for youth affairs, brings those issues to the Cabinet table, providing a direct route for young people into policy formulation. We were the first country to introduce an Ombudsman for Children, and Emily Logan has been very successful. In her case too, I have seen at first hand how she interacts with young people. She is there to protect their interests, providing a conduit for them to report any problems they might have, whether with teachers or with gardaí.

The Minister of State referred to an increase in investment in young people, which has almost doubled in recent years. I have witnessed that personally, especially through the young people's services and facilities fund. Several projects in the inner city have been fully funded by it, including their personnel. It is not simply a matter of buildings or rooms; it is also about people. In some cases they volunteer, but in many others they are appointed.

It is no good telling young people where they should or should not be. They must be attracted to such places. In Cabra, in the John Paul II Park complex, a simple room with a coffee machine and one or two Playstations means that kids will come from all over to spend a few hours talking without the presence of adults. It has been extremely successful through proper investment and planning and asking young people for their input. It comes out in the report that young people simply need somewhere to hang out. We have an anti-social behaviour problem, as it is called, and it is not only teenagers or young people who cause it. For example, adults enter off-licences around the city in the full knowledge of the owner to buy alcohol for under-age drinkers. There is no comeback on that, and we must tackle such issues.

I am especially supportive of two matters, the first being the youth diversion programmes run by the gardaí, which are totally under-resourced. One in our area runs on €20 a day. They divert young children from involvement in crime and drugs. The other is the Club for You, which used to be the No Name Club. It organises alcohol-free discos for young people, giving them an opportunity to have a say in their lives and an input into their futures. Education plays a great role in that, and we must listen to young people to see what they want and need.

I congratulate the Minister of State who has done an excellent job. Funding has increased during her term.