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Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, and Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman TD, have welcomed the holding of Ireland’s first ever Rural Youth Assembly, which took place online today.
The Assembly gathered young people living in rural areas, aged between 12-18 years old, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing those growing up in Rural Ireland.
The idea for the Assembly was proposed by youth groups during the consultation process in the development of the Government’s five year rural policy, Our Rural Future.
The Rural Youth Assembly is the first step in the establishment of a National Youth Assembly, which is due to be launched next year by Minister O’Gorman.
Speaking about today’s Rural Youth Assembly, Minister Humphreys said:
“Today’s event was the first of its kind and provided a unique opportunity for young people right across the country to have their say on issues affecting Rural Ireland. It is important to hear directly from our young people as they are best placed to give their views on how to improve the quality of life for those growing up in our rural communities. I am delighted to have been able to engage directly with the participants on how we can revitalise Rural Ireland and make our communities better places to live, work, grow up in and raise a family. It also gave me an opportunity to tell them about ‘Our Rural Future’, which is already having a really positive impact in our rural towns and villages. I congratulate the young people who I met today and encourage them to continue to be active voices in their rural communities. They are the people who will make the difference.”
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman T.D. said:
“Today is a proud moment for me as Minister marking this first step in realising commitments we made in the Programme for Government 2020 to establish Youth Assemblies. I am very happy to support Minister Humphreys in seeing through this commitment from ‘Our Rural Future’ to include the voice of young people in policy-making. Young people made history today, as the first Rural Youth Assembly, which we aim to be an annual event. Today marks the beginning of a whole new chapter for our Government in hearing the voice of young people in Ireland.”
Minister Humphreys also acknowledged the contributions of the National Participation Office and Comhairle na nÓg to the Rural Youth Assembly, adding:
“Youth participation structures like the National Participation Office and Comhairle na nÓg allow young people in our communities to have a say in matters that affect them. I would like to thank these organisations for their work on the Rural Youth Assembly. I would also like to thank Minister O’Gorman and his Department for taking part and for their assistance in making today’s event a success.”
ENDS
Our Rural Future
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland and adopts a more strategic, ambitious and holistic approach to investing in and maximising opportunities for rural areas.
Rural Youth Assembly
The Rural Youth Assembly saw 36 young people living in rural communities attend a virtual gathering, the first of its kind in Ireland.
The Assembly is one of the measures for delivery in Our Rural Future, and was proposed by young people during the consultation process in the development of the policy.
The National Participation Office consulted with Comhairle na nÓg representatives (ages 12 to 17) on their experiences and views on rural Ireland. The views of young people will inform recommendations for future actions under the Our Rural Future work programme.
Establishment of the Youth Assembly
The Department of Children, Disability, Equality, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is in the process of establishing a National Youth Assembly to act as a consultative forum on climate issues, rural issues and other issues as required. It will include children and young people between the ages of 12 and 24.
The main function of the Youth Assembly will be to provide a systematic means of capturing the voices of young people in Ireland and feeding this directly into the annual revision of the Climate Action Plan and the annual work programme of Our Rural Future. Other matters may be brought before the Youth Assembly as required.
DCEDIY makes including the voice of the child in decision-making a priority and plays an important role in leading Government efforts to ensure that children and young people have a voice in decisions that affect their lives.
DCEDIY’s National Participation Office works across local and national Government to build, develop and sustain structures to enable the meaningful participation of children and young people in decision making at local and national level.
Comhairle na nÓg
Comhairle na nÓg are child and youth councils operating in each of the 31 Local Authority areas across Ireland. Comhairle na nÓg gives children and young people the opportunity to be involved in, and have a voice in the development of, local and national services and policies and any issues that affect them in their local area. It is the recognised national structure for participation by children and young people (aged 12-17 years) in decision-making. Comhairle na nÓg is funded and managed through DCEDIY and supported by the National Participation Office. At the local level, Comhairle na nÓg is managed by Local Authorities.
Objectives of Comhairle na nÓg:
1. to encourage young people to identify, prioritise and progress topics that are important to them through enabling their influence on decision-makers to take action
2. to act as a consultative forum for adult decision-makers who want to include the views of young people in their work, whether it is policy development or gathering feedback on services and facilities.