Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, for his attendance.

As Vice Chair of the youth and sport committee in the Council of Europe with special responsibility for youth, I am very interested in the whole issue of youth participation in politics and policies aimed at youth. This morning on the Order of Business I commended the Houses of the Oireachtas family day, when people were brought in and shown what this place is like so that they are not strangers to where all the decisions are taken. I also commend the Oireachtas education programme which is an outreach programme. I know that many politicians will say they were doing that anyway but seeing many of the programmes being delivered in the classrooms, I am confident that this work is very important.

Youth council elections are taken very seriously and those appointed take their roles very seriously. The annual report from Dáil na nÓg is presented in a youth-orientated manner and I intend to read it as I am very interested in it. However, I suggest the people involved in Dáil na nÓg should have an opportunity to present what they are doing. One idea I had was that the opportunity could be provided during the Oireachtas family day when people see what this House looks like. Representatives of Dáil na nÓg could be allowed to come in and make a presentation here in the Chamber on the subject of their reports and the subjects that are important to them.

On Monday I opened a seminar in Strasbourg on youth participation which was attended by people from all the 47 states of the Council of Europe. I was very moved by the fact that somebody asked about the links between national parliaments and the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. It made me think about my role as Vice Chair of the committee of youth and sport. I realised that probably nobody knows I opened the conference on youth affairs in Strasbourg on Monday last, yet they thought the issue of youth participation was very important. Nobody seems to know that we put through a very important report on teaching history in areas of recent conflict. These are issues that are pertinent to young people and to how policy is driven.

We have taken significant steps to involve our youth. We are still being told that there is a deficit between us and the youth in terms of an interest in voting and policy-making. I wonder if more initiatives could be taken. I suggest that a DVD be made of Dáil na nÓg in action so that we can be part of what happens there.

The youth councils of the Council of Europe have equal voices in decision-making so when a budget comes through - this could be a very dangerous concept - the Council of Europe sport and youth directorate has co-management of the funding. As it was explained last Monday, co-management of the funding means that decisions about how funds are spent are co-managed. This is the good news side, but there is also a bad news side. For instance, the decision to cut one's cloth to suit the measure is necessary. I do not advocate going that far but at present we are nowhere near the point where the youth believe that we hear what they say. They are now talking to each other but it is important that we move that on to being heard here. The 47 members of the Council of Europe must find a way to interact with each other, through websites or whatever, to ensure best practice in youth affairs.