Clare students have expressed hope that funding will be made available for projects aimed at protecting young people when they’re online.
Jody Whelan and Fearghal Burke from Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna were among a group of Comhairle na nÓg members who have briefed a joint Oireachtas Committee on the issue of social media.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs yesterday heard from members of Comhairle na nÓg, a youth parliament for those under the age of 18.
The councils aim to give children and young people the opportunity to be involved in the development of local services and politics.
This week they’ve been answering question on their projects including their cyber security programme run in conjunction with McAfee, which has now been launched worldwide, and their sexting workshop co-run with Samfés in Iceland.
Their delegation included Jody Whelan from Lisdoonvarna, who hopes the advice they gave to the Oireachtas committee on how to keep young people safe will now be taken on board.
The role that social media plays in young people’s lives has been discussed by local Comhairle branches in recent years.
Fearghal Burke, who also attends Mary Immaculate in Lisdoonvarna, says now’s the time to take action to prevent any negative repercussions from online activity.
Their proposals will now be considered by the Oireachtas Joint Committee.
