Sir, – A conference on online safety for children and young people took place at Dublin Castle this week as part of the State’s presidency of the EU Council. But with all the focus on social media bans, online safety and what children and young people are being exposed to online, what consideration has been given to the infrastructures and architecture that should be in place to support young people offline?
Mis- and disinformation, harmful narratives and hate speech have created toxic online environments, which steadily creep into the real world. Youth workers are supporting young people experiencing greater pressures and issues; issues that require time, skill and stability to address effectively.
Meaningful responses to online harms and supporting young people to be safe online cannot neglect, or ignore, safe offline spaces. Youth work cannot continue to be underfunded but expected to deliver more and meet increasing, more complex demand. The ability to support young people is undermined by the lack of multiannual funding, lack of recognition of the funding deficits that services find themselves in and demand consistently outpacing supply.
In under a month, the Minister for Finance and Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation will deliver a budget that will test the Government’s commitment to young people: if protecting them online is truly a priority, this is the moment to demonstrate it through meaningful investment in youth services and youth work. National Youth Council of Ireland has called for €27.3 million additional investment, of which €13.5 million would be a direct uplift to services, clubs and programmes where it is needed now. – Yours, etc,
KATHRYN WALSH,
Director of policy and advocacy,
National Youth Council of Ireland,
Dublin 2.