New recreation policy for teenagers launched
The new policy on leisure time facilities for young people, developed by the Office of the Minister for Children, promotes new initiatives and the need for inter-agency co-operation
The dearth of appropriate recreational facilities has been raised consistently by teenagers at Dáil na nÓg and has been a key discussion topic in 2005 and 2006. Speaking at the launch of Teenspace, Aoife Finnerty (Mayo Comhairle na nÓg), an elected representative from Dáil na nÓg said:
“We found a grave lack of recreation facilities in some areas especially for teenagers who are not sport orientated. There was a lack of transport to facilities in rural areas and young people felt they were not a part of decisions affecting their lives.”
The new policy, developed by the Office of the Minister for Children in response to the concerns raised by teenagers and parents, promotes new initiatives and the need for interagency co-operation.
Youth cafés
Teenspace recognises that young people don't always want to participate in structured activities and that hanging out is a valid and important aspect of teenage life. The establishment of youth cafés was identified by young people as their single biggest need during the consultations on the recreation policy.
“Youth cafés offer great potential for providing a wide range of developmental, educational and information programmes, but they require a cross-Departmental and inter-agency collaborative approach.
“A survey of existing youth cafés is being undertaken by my Office and I have asked the National Children's Advisory Council's for support in producing a toolkit and guide to setting up a youth café.
“The launch of the Recreation Policy coupled with these processes will support the development of a structured programme for youth cafés,” said Minister Smith.
Access to facilities
Another important issue for young people is access to facilities and cost of participation.
“We need to work with a variety of agencies so that they increase support for recreation facilities at local level. The development of local sports partnerships and music education networks are significant milestones in delivering more structured and affordable activities for teenagers.
“A key driver in the development and delivery of county level recreation plans in the future will be the Children's Services Committees, an interagency initiative, involving local statutory authorities, led by the HSE.
“This initiative, which is just beginning, is intended to support collaborative interagency planning and delivery of services and the development of services which are responsive to the needs of individual communities,” said Minister Smith.
Aoife Finnerty welcomed the new policy and said its implementation would “encourage young people to feel part of their communities and proud of the facilities they have helped to create.”
‘Teenspace: National Recreation Policy for Young People’ can be found, in English and Irish, at www.omc.gov.ie