Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Minister. We are discussing young people but the voice of young people has been quite prevalent in these Houses in recent weeks. Three weeks ago, students from Tallaght Community School and Kinsale Community School appeared before the media committee and discussed the online safety Bill from their perspective. Their inclusion as part of the debate was critical, especially when, over the past year, the only way they could communicate was by way of social media. That was very relevant.

Addressing the committee, Megan Fahy from Kinsale Community School told us in no uncertain terms that:

It can be infuriating for students to be lectured on the dangers of social media by parents who perhaps do not understand that this is an integral part of growing up. Listening to young people [and young people] with experience ... [on] this issue is the best way to [inform decisions and to] educate.

Powerful words from her to us.

Equally powerful was a testimony we heard last week from the ISPCC and the Ombudsman for Children at the same committee outlining the impact of online abuse via social media. The CEO of the ISPCC, Mr. John Church, outlined the account of one 13-year-old girl named Kate who was contemplating slitting her wrists because of the abuse she suffered.

The appearance of Facebook, TikTok and Twitter at our committee this week is, therefore, an opportunity for them to start to address what these young people have said and what these companies will do positively to protect them. Regulation is coming for this unregulated sector, but I hope they come here with a positive attitude because these issues have been exacerbated because of Covid-19 and the abuse young people have suffered.

The words spoken by Megan were not the first time young people have told us we do not have a clue what we are talking about when it comes to matters concerning them. My 18-year-old niece said as much to me when Senator Malcolm Byrne spoke in this Chamber some time ago about how young people were missing out on the shift. She told me it has not been called that since I was in a nightclub back when the dinosaurs were around. That was some sucker punch to the old ego. Notwithstanding what it is called, the chance to swap saliva in a darkened corner of a nightclub with a sticky carpet has not been able to happen in more than a year. The thought of someone seeking a negative antigen test before they let you near them again in a darkened corner of Copper Face Jacks is hardly the best chat-up line to look forward to.

The resilience of young people over the past year has been immense and deserves great credit. Nothing has given me more pleasure in recent weeks than to see my own kids return to their sporting activities, be it the GAA or athletics. Getting sport back was a big thing for us in this country because it plays such a role in our society. The physical and psychological benefits are multiple.

There are many young people who are not involved in sport, however, and for whom the reopening of pitches had no consequence whatsoever. For many others, the inability to meet up with friends in a social club or nightclub or to attend a live music show is equally frustrating. The impact was felt by those whose passion and love is the performing arts and music.

We have seen countries, whether it is Spain or the UK, where live music events have come back. I know there is a huge appetite for that to return, especially when you see other live shows being cancelled already this year. I ask the Minister to work as closely as he can with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and others to make sure those areas in society can also reopen soon. They are as important as the sporting world on which we place much importance.

This has been a tough year educationally. Many have spoken about the impact on leaving certificate and junior certificate cycles this year. Like so many other aspects of our lives, we have woken up to the reality that testing kids by a written examination on one day of their lives is pure madness. Senator Ruane spoke passionately about this in the Seanad last Tuesday. The reassessment of that system is very much needed. I welcome that the Minister, Deputy Foley, said the reform process would look at this on the whole because it is badly needed.

Finally, the youngest people of all in our society are those in our childcare and early education centres. As the Minister well knows, the mobilisation of these centres to open in order that front-line workers could get to work was a mammoth effort co-ordinated on the ground with our county childcare committees, with which the Minister tick-tacked daily and weekly.

The actions, therefore, by the Minister's Department two weeks ago to renege on a Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, agreement from November last year to pay these co-ordinators in childcare what they are worth is disgraceful. This act was then compounded by a statement from the Department to the effect that those is the sector could pay themselves what they want but it would not fund them. That was a double slap in the face. Valuing those who are putting in place the structures for the early years sector and for our young children needs to start to be recognised in real terms, not with flowery language or plaudits. An agreement has been reneged on. It is fundamentally wrong. I hope the Minister will look at that, pay these people what they are worth and fund it as is required.