Dear Deputies Butler, Cullinane, Shanahan, and Ó Cathasaigh
We are constituents from Waterford, who are calling on you to support young people in Budget 2024 by investing €9.4 million in young people and youth work.
It is a hard time for young people. COVID-19 impacted their mental health and social connections, and now, the cost-of-living crisis means many are struggling financially.
Youth work organisations say that deprivation among young people they work with is on the rise, and the need for youth services is growing dramatically as young people and their communities feel the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
Youth workers are often a lifeline for young people, particularly for those who have the least. The wide range of activities provided by youth organisations support young people in their personal and social development, positive mental health, physical wellbeing, job skills and much more.
The rising cost of living is also placing a huge strain on youth work organisations themselves. A recent survey by the National Youth Council of Ireland revealed that nearly 3 in 5 organisations struggle to deliver vital youth work services because of inflation.
The Government must provide the necessary resources for these organisations to meet the growing needs of young people in Waterford, and to provide an Ireland where young people can live, grow, and flourish.
That is why we are supporting the National Youth Council of Ireland in calling on the Government to invest an additional €9.4m in youth work services in Budget 2024, to provide more supports and activities for young people and meet the needs of our growing youth population. The NYCI and its members across the country believe this increase is needed to help ensure the sustainability of the sector, and deal with current challenges facing many services.
We request that you act on this call and use whatever avenues available to you to ensure that we see a Budget 2024 that invests in our young people.
Your constituents,
| Michéal Ó Cionnfhaolaidh |
| Miriam Morrissey Heskin |
| Denise McAllister Wylie |
| Bernadette Noujaim Baldwin |
| Sinead Cheevers Galvin |
| Seosaimhthín Uí Mhuiríosa |
| Cian Ó Rathaille |
| A Ni Chathain |
| Maria Butterfield |
| Samantha Richardson |
| Fiona O’Donoghue |
| Anne O’Donoghue |
| Aine O Sullivan |
| Ann O Loughlin |
| Declan O Driscoll |
| Maura Littlewood |
| Nessa Fitzgerald |
| Éadaoin Breathnach |
| Milia Tsaoussis |
| Monica Rudi Kent |
| Kasia Pylyponko |
| Teresa O’Donovan |
| Caroline O Riordan |
| Mary Mollaghan |
| Jean McQuillan |
| Marcas Macruairi |
| Shona Macdonald |
| Andrea Comerford |
| Margaret Thompson |
| Gemma Sullivan |
| Marie Sullivan |
| Darina Stoilova |
| Lorraine Shanahan |
| Orla Shanaghy |
| Stan Phillips |
| Michael O’Reilly |
| Caroline O’Malley |
| Liam O’Connor |
| Peter O’Connor |
| Debbie O Rourke |
| Breda Savannagh O Connor |
| Kate Mcnamara |
| Kerryanne McCarthy |
| Pat Kinsella |
| Helena Kennealy |
| Maura Hanrahan |
| James Hannigan |
| Gemma Hallahan |
| Lorraine Hallahan |
| Dervil Flanagan |
| Felix Faulkner |
| Obianuju Ekedozie |
| Frank Cummings |
| Sinead Conneely |
| Fionnuala Broughan |
| Kieran Stewart |
| Caroline Russell |
| Rita Preston |
| Eithne O’Toole |
| Alan O’Neill |
| Avril O’Meara |
| Norma O’Meara |
| Ann O’Brien |
| Christine O’Brien |
| Jen O Leary |
| Bridget O Brien |
| Muireann Niccaba |
| Laura Minogue |
| Mary Minogue |
| Nicola Minihan |
| Deirdre McGuire |
| Ann Johnson |
| Eileen Jameson |
| Sinead Griffin |
| Christine Dzissah |
| Catriona Delaney |
| Lisa Cummins |
| Angela Crowley |
| Mary Crowley |
| Caroline Coleman |
| Ben Clooney |
| Sara Clooney |
| Lisa Carmody |
| Theresa Brennan |
| Margaret Aylward |
| Mary Ahearne |
| Jon Whitty |
| Deirdre Whelan |
| Gretta Whelan |
| Rose Whelan |
| Siobhán Whelan |
| Tia Weldon |
| Sedna Skerry |
| Wendy Rellis |
| Nuala O’Neil |
| Sinead O’Neil |
| Gabrielle O’Hara |
| Breda Murphy |
| Tracy Murphy |
| Yvonne Murphy |
| Norah Meaney |
| Rachel McAree |
| Casi Malone |
| Kathy Kirwan |
| Paula Keohan |
| Jane Jermyn |
| John Hughes |
| Peter Hughes |
| Laura Holden |
| Joe Hendry |
| Hannah Hearne |
| John Hearne |
| Michael Hearne |
| Annie Harney |
| Anne Marie Halley |
| Noeline Flavin |
| Daniel Fenton |
| Joanne Duggan |
| Shane Duggan |
| Sheila Duggan Duggan |
| Brian Drohan |
| Jeff Dalton |
| Fiona Cusack |
| Catherine Curran |
| Hannah Culkin |
| Cathy Cronin |
| Patricia Conesa |
| Orla Condon |
| Deirdre Clancy |
| Carmel Cahill |
| Mary Atkins |
| Marie Walsh |
| Fakhar Usman |
| Linda Tutty |
| Helen Tobin |
| Mary Roche |
| Kathleen Power |
| Mary Power |
| Tina Power |
| Vanessa Power |
| Thomas Marks |
| Claire Mahon |
| Roisin Lynch |
| Ryan Keogh |
| Melanie Kelly |
| Mary Kehoe |
| Pippa Jones |
| Shellie Grant |
| Anne Flynn |
| Mary Flynn |
| Nic Fewer |
| Cathriona Fahey |
| Yvonne Dunne |
| Angela Duffy |
| Bridget Doyle |
| Doireann Doyle |
| Carmel Doran |
| Adedayo Dixon |
| Mary Casey |
| Irene Carew |
| Annalouise Byrne |
| Cathy Byrne |
| Delia Burke |
| John Burke |
| Julie Breen |
| Amy Bible |
| Elizabeth Barry |
| Marie Troy |
| Christina Ryan |
| Úna Ryan |
| David Lane |
| Powell Emer |
| Helen Dwan |
| Bernie Daly |
| Edward Daly |
| Stephanie Daly |
| Amy Orr |
| Ida Mac |