Local Council seek to engage young people

On the topic of engaging with young people, councillors discussed options around meeting with student councils in secondary schools across the district as well as young people attending other education services.

Drawing on experience, district manager Michael Drea said that engaging students on certain topics works.

‘ The Market House Festival would be a perfect example. If we gave them a topic in advance, then have the opportunity for proper engagement to liaise and discuss’.

Eddie Taaffe said a key to this is to ask them their views, as he feels that nobody asks them their views.

‘Maybe during our November or December meeting, we could invite the representation from groups as well as Gorey Youth Needs. This has to be a meaningful exercise that is not rushed,’ said Cllr Byrne.

‘We could ask them what are things that they’d like to see the Council doing for young people or priorities they’d see for their own school and look at allocating a small budget,’ he said. Cllr Farrell said that there has to be an incentive, so young people can discuss what they want put on an agenda and they need to be told about this as soon as possible.

‘We could come up with focused projects in each school in a five year plan, through the student councils starting in first year up finishing in the sixth years. We should meet them in early December because some of the student councils aren’t long up and running,’ said Cllr Donohoe. It was decided that Cllr Byrne and Michael Drea would set something up to bring this along.