Lack of activities for Kerry’s youth main focus for county’s youth council as new committee elected

By Alastair Tibbs, The Kerryman

Kerry’s youth council has elected a new executive committee as the group looks to tackle the lack of facilities and activities for young people this year.

Kerry Comhairle na nÓg voted Malwina Mierzinska in as chair of the youth council while Christian Gleasure was elected as the council’s national representative.

Comhairle na nÓg are local youth council’s which give young people a voice during the development of local policy and services.

They are recognised as a key national structure for the participation by children and young people in local decision making in all 31 local authorities.

The topic for Kerry’s Comhairle this year is the lack of facilities and activities for young people in the county.

“We’re going to focus on improving facilities and activities for young people, and on making people more aware of what’s already available,” said council chair, Malwina Mierzinska.

“We also want to hear directly from young people about what facilities they think are missing so that spaces reflect what young people actually want.”

Christian Gleasure was elected as the Comhairle’s national executive representative which will involve attending Ireland’s national youth parliament, Dáil na nÓg, and representing Kerry.

“I am delighted that the other members put their trust in me to represent Kerry nationally for the next two years,” he said.

“I look forward to Dáil na nÓg and then working monthly in Dublin on the issue we’ll vote on for the young people of Kerry and Ireland.”

Comhairle na nÓg’s new committee also includes Joseph Scanlan as vice-chair, Kieran Murphy and Ciara Stack as secretary and vice-secretary, Isabel Gannon and Emily Ashley as social media officers, and Isabel Araiza and Clodagh O’Shea as the steering committee.

Last year the council tackled the issue of mental health, distributing over 5,000 infographic flyers providing advice and bolstering awareness of mental health.

Figures released this year show the number of children in Kerry awaiting psychological treatment has risen by over two and half times since 2022, with nearly 1000 children on the HSE’s treatment list.

Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly previously described the data as absolutely staggering, while the HSE said it was due to both an increase in demand and a lack of resources.

At the youth council’s annual gathering last November, Kerry’s education and Training board, Seamus Whitty, put mental health as one of the biggest issues young people face.

Having worked with a children and young person’s committee group, he said salient challenges included access to spaces for the county’s youth, public transport and the need for quality mental health services.

“Mental health came up a lot, particularly the importance of having access to mental health services and understanding what they can provide,” said Mr Whitty.

“Young people want services delivered in a youth friendly way, that don’t make young people feel like they’re being talked down to or talked at, but that they feel engaged with.”

“Young people’s voices matter and they’re important. It’s really critical that we’re organised about youth issues and that we can advocate for them. When young people are gathered together and strategic about them, it really helps.”