Last Friday, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of Comhairle na nÓg’s Safety Survey Report in the Westside Youth Project centre, based on a survey they carried out with young people in the city earlier this year. This report detailed their safety concerns around the city, on public transport, and in public spaces.
They also looked at the availability of safe, accessible and suitable social spaces both indoors and outdoors for young people and have called for the accelerated provision of a dedicated Youth Centre within the city centre, with other similar facilities throughout communities in the city.
I’ve been working with young people for the last 18 years through my job as a secondary school teacher, listening and engaging with their own positive and negative lived experiences within their own communities.
One clear theme that has emerged from my discussions with them is that they feel disconnected from the decision-making processes that impact them at both local and national level. It was in fact one of the main catalysts that made me put my own name down on the ballot paper last year.
Earlier this year I submitted a motion to establish an office of a Youth Mayor, providing an opportunity for young people to get involved in local decision making and to feed into and tailor services to meet the needs of young people in Galway City.
It would have provided a channel for young people’s views to be heard by decision-makers, who make plans and policies that may not have fully considered how it impacts their daily lives. Though the motion was debated within a sub-committee, and there was general agreement that it had merit, I was disappointed that it was not approved by the members.
Listening to the presentation by the young people last Friday, it was clear that our youth are frustrated and concerned that their voices are not being heard. At the same time, they are also engaged, educated, passionate and motivated to get involved to make change. We need to support them better.
We need to ensure that incredible organisations such as Comhairle na nÓg, Youth Work Ireland, Foróige and others have the funding and resources to continue to deliver excellent services and programmes.
We need to get more young people involved in politics, whether that means making voting more accessible and easier through online portals, lowering the voting age to 16, or creating a Youth Ambassador to work with our local authority and councillors to help shape policies that impact our youth.
We have an opportunity in the coming weeks during discussions about the upcoming budget for 2026, to increase funding for youth services in the city. I sincerely hope that through working with colleagues and staff within the council, we can advance these initiatives.
