Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not just the young people who will be having the party. I commend Senator Seery Kearney on tabling this important motion. As has been said, the contribution of young people, the effect on them of the Covid-19 pandemic and their resilience have all been remarkable. One must consider the experiences of young people, including the leaving certificate classes of last year and this year and the college freshers who have not yet set foot in their universities. Hopefully that will change in September. Their contribution, commitment, resilience, tolerance and playing by the rules - because the vast majority of them have played by the rules - are remarkable and commendable. This generation of young people will define our future in a very positive way.

As a society, we have a responsibility to make Ireland attractive to young people. For too long, we have seen our young professionals leave the country as soon as they qualify and gain a year's experience in employment. We have lost thousands of medical professionals, from doctors and nurses through the whole suite of people trained in various medical disciplines, who have opted to go to other countries because of the lifestyle available, conditions of employment and so on. They are not leaving Ireland because they are forced to do so. They are leaving Ireland by choice. As a society, we must look at how we can make our country attractive to these people. I salute those who returned to help out in the pandemic when the call went out 14 or 15 months ago.

We need to invest in youth services. We need to significantly invest in youth clubs and youth cafés. This infrastructure is needed throughout the country, not only in urban areas. Some work has been done in this regard but much of it was paused as a result of the pandemic.

As with many other areas of society, we need to develop long-term strategic plans to support young people, particularly vulnerable young people. Every person born in this country has rights, as Senator Seery Kearney pointed out. In 2012, we had a referendum on children's rights. We also had a senior Cabinet Minister with responsibility for children. In saying that, I acknowledge the work the Minister has done since taking up his position. It has been a baptism of fire with all of the issues he has had to deal with. Now that things are beginning to settle a bit and he is getting comfortable in the seat, we will begin to see significant results from investment in youth services. This will create an environment in which young people who qualify and graduate will want to stay in this country.

It is reasonable and fair-----