Write a comment
Newry and Armagh MP Dáire Hughes has praised young people participating in Co Operation Ireland projects who attended the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement earlier this week, saying they are pivotal to building a new inclusive united Ireland.
Cllr Hughes commended the efforts of the 'Future Leaders' and praised them for their well-researched presentation on disability access in education. He said it was powerful to see young people advocate so passionately for persons with disabilities. The findings of Cooperation Ireland's 'Future Leaders' show that more must be done to enhance disabled students' access to education right across Ireland.
Cllr Hughes said that includes the sharing of resources and best practice on an all-Ireland basis, and they agreed to share the findings with both the north and the south's Education Ministers. He said: "I was very taken with the points made by these young people regarding disability and inclusivity. A new constitutional arrangement provides the opportunity for a reimagined society in which everyone is afforded a dignified standard of living. That is the new united Ireland that Sinn Féin seeks to build."
TD for Mayo Rose Conway-Walsh also praised the attendance of young people at the committee. She said the value of cross-border collaboration and initiatives between young people and youth groups is immense, describing yesterday's discussion with young people on the importance of inclusive education as enlightening. Time was spent discussing the lowering of the voting age to 16 and the all-island approach needed to ensure that all 16-year-olds on the island have the same voting rights.
The young people present believed this would be a positive step forward and should be accompanied with education programmes. Teachta Conway-Walsh said proposals have recently been announced by the British government to enable people to vote from age 16, which would also apply to the north of Ireland, and she believes the Irish government must advance its own legislation in this regard.
