Youth Work Ireland Oireachtas Briefing 2017

On Wednesday October 4th, delegations from Youth Work Ireland Member Youth Services traveled to Dublin to speak with Oireachtas members. This annual event gives us an opportunity to communicate the value of the work being done in local communities by youth services every week.

 

 

 

Thank you to Gerry Adams, Mary Lou McDonald, Thomas Pringle, and Charlie McConalogue for speaking with us on the day!

 

Check out this short video of our trip!

 

The Youth Work Ireland three asks on the day were:

1. Commit to the continued position of the voluntary sector
Despite successive calls, we remain concerned at the role and place of the voluntary sector in delivering local youth services. The youth Work Act 2001 defines youth work as being primarily delivered by voluntary youth organisations. This will be a particularly important issue in the review of the Youth Service Grant currently being undertaken by the DCYA.

2. Ensure the Voluntary Sector is at the Table
There is a lot of change going on in the organisation and funding of youth work, Good policy is predicated on involving those affected by decisions and those delivering local services. Despite the provisions of the 2001 Youth Work Act for a National Youth Work Advisory Committ, such a body is not currently constituted. We believe it should be and is key to working in partnership with the voluntary sector.

3. Young People with Disabilities
Despite years of commitments and promises Ireland has still not ratified the UN convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. We are the only EU State not to have done so. We believe this is a hugely important issue for young people and the ratification should be done this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are lots more photos from the day on the Youth Work Ireland Facebook Page