Giving Dublin’s youth a voice

The room is bustling with heated, animated conversation. There’s around 50 people gathered in three groups focusing on different areas of the problem at hand. The groups sit in circles, debating, brainstorming.

You hear snippets here and there: “A PR launch in the Mansion House or Smock Alley?… Overcoming the stigma of being in care… The trauma of a kid in care turning 18 and suddenly just being thrown out onto the street?… Think in images.”

We’re hearing the language of political engagement. Of lobbying. Of activism.

We’re in the Wood Quay headquarters of Dublin City Council. The site was the scene of heated protest in the 70s; conservationists wanted to preserve the Viking settlement unearthed during excavations. It’s been claimed that the defeat of their protest set back the cause of activism in Ireland for decades.

The meeting today, however, testifies to the fact that activism is alive and well. What’s more, this engaged group is made up of young people aged 12-18, debating and lobbying on issues that affect them.

Comhairle na nÓg is for young people… who aren’t eligible to vote and it provides a space to have their voices heard.

They touch on everything from mental health services to Brexit to homelessness and the problems faced by youth in care. It’s very impressive stuff. The Wood Quay activists would be proud.

Welcome to Comhairle na nÓg. “It’s a young persons’ parliament,” says coordinator Mary Mooney of Dublin City Council. “Comhairle na nÓg is for young people under the age of 18 who aren’t eligible to vote and it provides a space to have their voices heard”.

What Comhairle na nÓg is all about

Comhairle na nÓg means ‘Youth Council’. There is a Comhairle located in each of the 31 local authorities across the country.

They are designed to provide young people with an opportunity to discuss and debate the services, policies and issues that affect them most.

A comhairle group discussion when Dublin.ie visited back in 2017

Through the Comhairle, young people are encouraged to speak out and make their voices heard on all issues of relevance. So just like a Citizens’ Assembly, really, but for young people.

It’s an initiative of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. And though a few years have passed since Dublin.ie witnessed the scenes above, it appears to be quite an effective one.

It’s not pie in the sky stuff, it is real. Nor is it a way to bunk off school, because these meetings kick off at 4pm.

How to become a member

Registration for the Dublin City Comhairle AGM opens in September. Young people aged 12-17 years can register to attend if they live or go to school in the Dublin City Council area. They can also register through their school or youth organisations, as they all receive notice of the AGM too.

Some 200 young people attend from schools and youth projects. There is an opportunity for anyone attending who wants to be on the Comhairle to put their name down at the AGM and run for election. Then, they pitch speeches to the crowd, presenting their case as to why they should be elected.

They are like mini-councillors.

“They get up and say why they want to do the job and their peers vote for them. So they are like mini-councillors,” Mary says.

At the AGM, they also vote on their working topic for the year ahead. In 2017, the topic was homelessness. In 2020, it was climate action. And in 2022, it is mental health.

The council’s working topic for 2022

Mental Health was voted as the 2022 working topic by the city’s young people. So since January, they have been working on developing and refining their topic focus.

This involved them meeting with mental health organisations, such as Mental Health Ireland, Webwise, Jigsaw, Walk In My Shoes and A Lust For Life.

After many conversations and meetings, the group decided that their focus will be on opening up the conversation around youth mental health.

As a follow on from this action, the Dublin City Comhairle are planning to pilot a workshop in September that will bring together parents and young people. They will also engage mental health organisations and experts in the workshop too.

To carry on the conversation and make the public aware of their actions, they also plan to develop mental health resources for schools. This is part of the council’s tradition. Every year, they aim to take actions that will have an ongoing impact.

One of the pledges created as part of the Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg’s 2021 working topic

For example, the 2021 working topic was LGBTQIA+ issues for young people. As part of their working topic outcomes, the young people of the council developed graphics and the Dublin City Comhairle also developed a ‘Let’s Be Inclusive’ pledge.

What’s next for Dublin City’s youth council

As it stands, Dublin City’s Comhairle na nÓg is made up of 46 elected young people from across the city. They are elected for a two year term, while working topics change annually.

Members are a key part of the decision making process and they work in partnership with their coordinator and seek advice from various organisations relevant to the working topic.

The next AGM will take place in November in the Round Room at the Mansion House on Dawson Street.

For further information, contact [email protected] or visit the Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg website.