This article is from page 8 of the 2006-07-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 8 JPG
CLARE’S young people had an audience with delegates from Clare County Council last week to discuss issues concerning them. The representatives from Dáil na nÓg, the Irish Youth Parliament and Comhairle na nÓg, the youth council, made the presentation on Monday, July 17 before elected members of the council including former Mayor of Clare, Councillor Flan Garvey (FF).
The presentation was to address the need to establish a structure whereby representatives of young people could meet with local authorities or relevant committees.
The representatives, Joshua Asubiojo, Nicole Carmody, Róisin Shaughnessy, Daniel Flannagan and Dolores McNamara, addressed the council representatives on several other issues including the need to fully implement the physical education curriculum, the provision of improved sports facilities, education and exam pressure and the risks and benefits associated with technology.
The group thanked the council for the opportunity to speak and made a special reference to the ‘proactive’ policies being implemented by the council on provision of play and recreational facilities.
Dáil na nÓg was established to give the children and young people of Ireland the opportunity to have a voice and represent their views on a national level. The young delegates can let decision-makers in government know about issues that affect their daily lives, including education and play facilities. Comhairle na nÓg, which has 37 participating schools around the county, is run by local county development boards to give children a voice on a community level.