From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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Today, Wednesday 13 July, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O‘Gorman, marks National Traveller Pride Week with the launch of a project to support young Travellers in having a voice in local and national policy-making.
Minister O’Gorman announced the project at the Annual Information and Networking Event for Comhairle na nÓg Organisers, 2022. This event brings those with responsibility for Comhairle na nÓg (local youth councils) in each local authority around the country together at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to share learning and to hear about new initiatives.
The Minister, Comhairle organisers and key stakeholders heard from Kay McCabe of Involve, who are delivering this project on behalf of the department. The aim is to strengthen the links between Traveller communities and their local Comhairle na nÓg, so that young Travellers can have a say in local and national decision-making on policy, programmes or services.
Funded under the Dormant Accounts Fund, a key aim of the project will support young people from the Traveller community to take part in Comhairle na nÓg meetings, events, consultations and other activities. The project will focus on identifying, through local Traveller groups, young people from the local traveller community who are interested in participating in their local Comhairle and will provide any additional supports they require to do so meaningfully.
When launching the project Minister O’ Gorman said:
“Comhairle na nÓg is well established in Local Authorities across the country. In keeping with the aims of the Five Year Development Plan for Comhairle, which I launched last year, we want to broaden the reach of Comhairle, and include children and young people who need additional support to have their voices heard.”
Speaking at the launch Kay McCabe, Senior Project Worker with Involve said:
"Involve are really looking forward to this new partnership with the DCEDIY and Comhairle na nÓg. As a youth service that specialises in working with the Traveller community we are aware of some of the barriers that exist for Traveller Youth participation in Comhairle, such as a lack of self-confidence, cultural aspects and discrimination, but we hope through working together we can increase engagement, retention and participation.
“Having an open-door policy and treating everyone the same is not always enough to foster equality sometimes extra supports are required to create equity, we are delighted to see that the DCEDIY has made steps to provide these extra supports."
The project aims to:
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 the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). At local level, Comhairle na nÓg is managed by Local Authorities.
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. objective is, 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
The Comhairle na nÓg Five Year Development Plan includes key actions for the extension of membership and participation of Comhairle to seldom-heard groups, including young Travellers. The project will support the pathways being developed by local Comhairlí, as part of the Comhairle na nÓg Five Year Development Plan, and feed into their development.
The Comhairle Organisers Information Event is an annual event for DCEDIY to engage with those who deliver the range of services for Comhairle na nÓg, including Local Authority personnel and Comhairle Co-ordinators. It provides an important opportunity for the department to acknowledge the work carried out, to update relevant personnel on key policy developments and to present the annual report on Comhairle activities from Pobal who administer and audit the Comhairle na nÓg Development fund on behalf of the department.
It also provides an opportunity for the organisers to network with each other, share thoughts and experiences. Due to COVID-19, this event has been held online for the past two years. This is their first in-person event since the pandemic.
Involve (formerly the National Association of Traveller Centres) was founded in 1972 as a voluntary committee. Involve is a youth, community and communications organisation working primarily with members of the Traveller community. Involve is the main provider of youth work services to young Travellers in Ireland. One of Involve’s main objectives is to advocate equality and inclusivity for the Traveller community and provide initiatives and services that promote the participation and inclusion of the Traveller community in Irish society.