SERVICES
Comhairle na nÓg is a youth council and is a national programme which gives children and young people from across the country the chance to have their voices heard on the issues affecting their lives, both today and in the future. It’s vital that young people know that their opinions, views, and ideas are being taken seriously in the decisions impacting them every day. Monaghan Comhairle na nÓg works with young people to give them the opportunity to be involved in the development of local services and policies.
The core programme of Comhairle na nÓg centres on young people identifying, prioritising, and progressing topics important to them. Each year the Comhairle hold their Annual Youth Conference, at which extensive consultations are undertaken with all attendees to determine what the key area of work for the following year will be. To assist in delivering the Comhairle programme locally, funding is provided annually from The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to each local authority.
Monaghan County Council’s Youth Officer works alongside an external delivery partner, to oversee the delivery of the annual programme of work. To further assist the work of the youth council, a local steering committee is in place, which is made up of representatives from various agencies, to support the work of the Comhairle and offer advise over the course of the year. Committee members are identified by either the young people themselves or support workers as being someone who could add invaluable experience to the group in working on the key topic selected.
At the 2023 Annual Youth Conference, the young minds of Monaghan decided that ‘Lack of Infrastructure’ was the key issue they wanted to address in 2024, reflecting their commitment to making a positive impact on their community. The most significant project undertaken by the young people in 2024 was the “Let’s Talk Event” which took place in St. Joseph’s Pastoral Centre in Monaghan in the lead up to local elections. Over 60 young people from schools and youth services across County Monaghan attended the event, which was also attended by several prospective local candidates.
The young people participated in discussions, networking and workshops that were based around the Monaghan Comhairle na nÓg key topic of “Lack of infrastructure”. The young people engaged in question-and-answer sessions with prospective candidates, while they actively got involved in idea sharing around lots of ideas/areas that could be further explored and developed.
To find out further information about Comhairle na nÓg visit www.comhairlenanog.ie or like us on facebook at www.facebook.com/MonaghanComhairlenanOg