Dublin City South

Dublin City South CYPSC: Consulting with young people on their own terms

Dublin City South CYPSC meets regularly with young people who sit on the Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg to make sure that they are involved in the development of local services.  By engaging young people on their own terms, the CYPSC has an ongoing communication and consultation with young people who live in Dublin. This helps them keep young people at the heart of their work.

Comhairle na nÓg are youth councils across Ireland that give children and young people between the ages of 11-18 years the opportunity to be involved in the development of local services for young people.  These councils meet throughout the year and work on issues that are decided by the young people themselves.  In Dublin, the CYPSC endorses Dublin City Comhairle’s key actions while also supporting the participation of the sixty-three young people on the council in a number of other ways too. Over the past few years Dublin City Comhairle have worked on a number of themes including mental health.

The CYPSC has partnered with Dublin City’s Comhairle na nÓg for a number of years.  When this partnership began, the CYPSC Co-ordinator met with the Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg to ask its members directly how they wanted to be consulted.  The young people requested that the CYPSC attend Comhairle meetings, rather than having a young person attend CYPSC meetings.  In this way engagement is always on the young people’s terms.

 

“Supporting Young People’s mental health in Dublin City has been on the Agenda of our Comhairle for a long time.  In February 2015 we recommended that Jigsaw services [youth mental health] would be available in the Dublin City Council area.  Through our planning group and supporting our Comhairle objectives the Children and Young People’s Services Committee has worked with us to achieve this outcome.  Now in May 2016, a facility has been agreed and a Dublin City based Jigsaw service is on the horizon!"
Testimony from young people in Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg
 

 

Since then the CYPSC has supported the work of Comhairle na nÓg through the work of the CYPSC Co-ordinator for Dublin City South, who:

  • Attends Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg meetings and meets with the young people who sit on it.
  • Brings back updates to the CYPSC, like what are Dublin City Comhairle’s key actions each year.
  • Gets involved in the planning and delivery of the Dublin City Comhairle annual general meeting in Croke Park, Dublin.
  • Is chairperson of the Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg Steering Group; a team that supports the young people’s interactions with local decision makers.

As a result, the CYPSC Co-ordinator becomes one of the vehicles for communication between young people and local decision makers.  Feedback from the young people about their involvement with Dublin City Comhairle and CYPSC shows that they feel their voice is truly valued and they have a genuine sense that they have a contribution in the decisions that affect their lives.

 

“Working together has shown us that a common goal will benefit the common good…  Ní neart a chuir le chéile!”
Young People from Dublin City Comhairle na nÓg

 

Many CYPSC across Ireland are working with their local Comhairle na nÓg to consult young people and to involve them in local decision-making.  Dublin City South CYPSC’s approach to engaging young people on their own terms is a good example of how this work is being carried out.

 

Click here for more information on Comhairle na nÓg in Dublin City.

Click here to learn more about Jigsaw services in Dublin and beyond.  

Click here for more information on Dublin City South CYPSC.

Click here to return to the CYPSC Story hub.