Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)

I join with the other Senators who have welcomed the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, to the Chamber and compliment her on her work in her part of the Department of Education and Science.

I have been looking through a list of approximately 20 pages of projects, grant-aided schemes and so on. The credit for many of them can go to the Minister of State. From her press releases, which she has been good enough to send to us from time to time, her work seems to have touched virtually every part of the country. For that reason, I am glad that she is here. It is relevant and significant that we are having a discussion on youth affairs. No one could have foreseen this 20 years ago, since the issue was not centre-stage at that point. It has become a central issue in the media and for public representatives and one is tempted to ask why that is the case. We have a larger youth population than any country in Europe. There are always the issues of deprivation and, more importantly, opportunity. There are many opportunities now for young people because of our new-found affluence and the interaction between Ireland and other countries. Young people have the chance to travel through educational, cultural and sporting programmes so they have a knowledge of the wider world and are able to make comparisons and base their demands on them.

I was taken by Senator Brady's contribution. The anecdotal issues he raised are obviously based on his own experience in a given constituency. We should break this down into areas on which we can focus. I looked at the appendix of 33 relevant websites distributed by the Department, each run by an organisation working for young people, and it is just the tip of the iceberg. It gives an idea of the quantity as well as the quality of service being provided.

A group from Dáil na nÓg appeared before the Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs recently and submitted themselves graciously and effectively to a question and answer session. Like Senator Brady I was exceptionally impressed because in the past there were contrived situations, with young people being prepared and rehearsed, but here they appeared before hardened public representatives who are interested in real issues. They were exceptionally good.

The one criticism I have — it is more of a challenge than a criticism — is that sometimes they should look to themselves to do things. We must create a balance between State aid and the initiative they have. I set up a club at the age of 16 which was run by young people. We did drama, music and other activities and published our own newsletter. Such initiative should not be stifled.

Each year I watch the Gáisce awards and I am thrilled with what I see. We hosted them in our centre in Cashel this year and to see the initiative and vision displayed by those young people was most impressive. The other side of the coin, however, is that young people today are open to exploitation by commercial interests. There is nothing worse than to see the statistic that more than 50% of young people have imbibed alcohol by the age of 13. That cannot be right, just like the number of young people who have experimented with drugs. Those are two sides of the coin, Gáisce on one side and the suffering as a result of exploitation on the other.

The Minister of State rightly referred to volunteerism. The kernel of success within a community is when people are involved on a voluntary basis in helping sporting, social and cultural bodies. Cashel has 27 voluntary organisations from a population of 3,000, which shows the extent to which voluntary effort exists on the ground. The Minister of State has helped fund many of those organisation and it is money well spent.

If anything disappoints me, after doing so much to help young people meet the challenges and avail of opportunities offered, it is the number of them who do not vote. I find that difficult to accept. Organisations should make young people realise that voting is the most fundamental right they have when it comes to controlling their own future.