Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion.

I welcome the Minister and thank Senator Seery Kearney for her work on this matter and the passion that she always brings. The motion acknowledges the contribution of young people through volunteering and advocacy, and the way in which they have built reserves of resilience that inspire us in the face of this pandemic over the past year.

During the year, I thought about how I would have felt facing a pandemic in lockdown if I was a teenager or in my 20s. I remember the period of transition from school to college where I met lifelong friends and had opportunities to travel. For those learning languages, as I was, we got to travel and work in countries such as France and Spain. We must acknowledge that much of that was lost by many young people in the past year. The college years are a great period in life when we makes discoveries, learn and get opportunities to meet new people and have new experiences. They shape us.

Young people have given us hope this year and have been great examples of resilience. They changed their behaviours to protect their parents, grandparents and loved ones. In my area of Ballinasloe, many young players' clubs became involved in the community call through the county councils, particularly in Galway and Roscommon.

If we think back to the first few dreadful months of the pandemic starting in February last year, there was so much fear and our knowledge of the pandemic was very limited. Despite this, young people brought hope to older people, delivering medicines from pharmacies and groceries and newspapers. That effort was replicated in all the counties. All of these clubs and young people stepped up.

As Fine Gael spokesperson on education, further and higher education, I am a member of the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. I am also a member of the Joint Sub-Committee on Mental Health. The committees have heard in recent months about the impact of Covid-19 and the lockdown on young people, especially when schools were closed. The sacrifices during lockdown were to save lives but they also allowed the Government to prioritise the reopening of schools. Children and young people came first and were a priority of the Government. While we used technology to facilitate remote learning, the closure of schools impacted on developmental and social skills. In the time ahead, post-primary schools will work well to ensure well-being and inclusivity for all students.

The education committee also discussed bullying and the impacts on young people of cyberbullying and online harassment, especially at post-primary level.I know that legislation has been introduced by the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, which is looking at online harassment and supporting young people who go through difficult times online, especially in respect of the sharing of images.

In terms of exams, I know that the accredited grades system has reduced stress and anxiety for students by offering choice and the option of being awarded an accredited grade or sitting an exam.

However, as has been mentioned, the traditional college experience is also very different. At third level, the Minister, Deputy Harris, has increased the number of places available through the apprenticeship programme, whereby people can earn and learn and go from diploma to PhD level. The numbers on this programme have grown from 6,000 to 10,000. There are a further 2,200 college places available. The Minister, Deputy Harris, has also initiated a consultation on the SUSI programme on how to reform the support and increase the number of people and students who are eligible for the programme.

Now, more than ever, there is such a choice for school leavers at age 17 or 18. As Senator Seery Kearney has noted, Ireland included young people in the PUP support. That support was extended. When seasonal adjustments are made, it does make a difference in terms of the figures. We know that there is a large number of students who are currently in receipt of the PUP support. I will stop there.