Giving young people a voice
WITH turnouts at the polls for elections having taken an abysmal turn in recent times, more emphasis is being sparking the interest of young people and getting them involved in politics at a local and national level.
It was therefore refreshing for the members of Wexford County Council to listen to a presentation from the local chapter of Comhairle na nÓg and some of the work they are doing. Conor Brennan, Amy White and Matthew Colgan arrived into the council chamber along with their facilitator Paula Kelly and were a fine endorsement of how young people are well capable of representing themselves.
Among the issues figuring highly on a local scale in Wexford Comhairle na nÓg is mental health. The delegation pointed out some of the work they are doing to reduce instances of self-harm and suicide among young people including the distribution of leaflets and brochures with information, offering pop-up counselling and the creation of ‘Teen Talk’ - an out of hours service run through the FDYS which offers a safe space for young people to come together each Saturday just to talk over a cup of tea.
The group were also in search of funding to continue some of their work, including unveiling two benches in The Rocks in memory of young people who’ve died by suicide.
Cllr Davy Hynes was impressed by the work being undertaken by the young representatives.
‘I think it’s important to empower young people and to give them the resilience to deal with issues as they come up,’ he said. ‘I hope that the council continue to support them in their work.’
Cllr Lisa McDonald agreed with Cllr Hynes and stressed that she would like to see legislation brought in to combat cyber-bullying, something which has become a real issue affecting young people.
An invitation was extended to the Comhairle na nÓg members from Cllr Leonard Kelly to offer some input into the Environment and Climate Change Strategic Policy Committee (SPC).
Having spoken at an event with Comhairle na nÓg members in the past, Cllr Frank Staples said: ‘I was blown away by the lads on the night. They completely opened up in a way that I would not have been able to do at that age. The only way to get away from the stigma attached to mental health is to get young people talking about it.’
Deputy Principal at Wexford CBS, Cllr John Hegarty said it was a source of great pride to the school that two of the representatives were from his own school. He described them as ‘fine ambassadors’ and said that the whole project was ‘showing the positive results of giving young people leadership opportunities’ and often ‘the most important voices in schools are those of the students’.
On behalf of the delegation, Matthew Colgan said that ‘giving young people leadership opportunities was what Comhairle na nÓg is all about’ and that ‘having the opportunity to speak to councillors is fantastic’.
Cllr George Lawlor urged young people to engage with their local representatives on an ongoing basis. ‘A lot of us are a bit removed from the age group you come from,’ he said. ‘But we’re your representatives as well as everyone else’s. I’d ask you to engage with us and we will raise issues for you. Don’t be afraid to come to us and it doesn’t have to be just when you’re invited in here.’