Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I return to the questions on the clarity of the guidelines under level 5 and the position on the shooting of pheasants. As the House will be aware, recreational shooters play an important role in managing vermin, pests and predators in country areas. Due to level 5, however, recreational shooting has been stopped. I ask that we get clarity on that and in particular on the possibility of an extension to the pheasant shooting season.

On the question of living with Covid, I raise the issue of how our young people are coping with the virus. We need to consider our response. While we are all impacted in many ways, young people have been particularly affected. There was a peak of youth unemployment at about 45% over the course of the summer.Those who went through the nightmare of the leaving certificate this year and those who will face it again next year will not have the same first year college experience many of us in this House have been fortunate to experience. The joy of going to nightclubs - I am not sure how many in the House have spent their time clubbing - is certainly not available to teenagers and young people. These are very important rights of passage. We need to consider ways in which we might ensure we have a debate about not only how young people have been dealing with Covid, what supports we can put in place and how we can support young people's mental health but also the contribution, welcomed by the Chief Medical Officer, CMO, this morning, that young people have made to fighting this Covid challenge.