In 2015, Ireland introduced the National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-making, acknowledging that children and young people are not “beings in becoming” but rather are “citizens of today” with the right to be respected and heard during childhood, adolescence and transition to adulthood. This whole-of-government strategy, developed by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (since 2020 referred to as the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth), aimed at promoting the active participation of children and young people in decision-making processes, including in community, education, health, well-being and legal settings.
National Strategy for Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision‑Making – Ireland
Abstract
The National Participation Strategy is primarily aimed at children and young people under the age of 18 but “also embraces the voice of young people in the transition to adulthood up to the age of 24”. The Strategy is underpinned by a rights-based model of participation in line with Lundy’s Model of Participation. To support the implementation of the strategy, a national centre of excellence, Hub na nÓg, was established with the aim of ensuring capacity-building and providing resources for service providers and policy makers to better enable children and young people’s participation. It provides coaching, development advice and trainings that are tailored to the needs of the organisations to engage children and young people in decision-making. The action plan of the Strategy comprised of 99 action items and provided a structured roadmap with designated commitments for government departments and agencies, while encouraging collaboration between different sectors and stakeholders, fostering a co-ordinated effort to achieve its goals. The Strategy emphasised the importance of involving certain groups of children and young people that organisations struggle to engage in decision-making, including LGBTI+1 children and young people, those with disabilities, those from ethnic minorities, Traveller and Roma children and young people, and young carers. The implementation of the Strategy is supported by four enabling factors: organisational endorsement, training for decision-makers, allocation of resources (financial, human and time) and the establishment of monitoring and feedback mechanisms.
The Final Review of the National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making 2015 – 2020 published in January 2023 demonstrates that government departments and agencies have made substantial progress in implementing 92 out of the 99 agreed actions. The results show the impact of a government-wide strategy in promoting child and youth participatory practices across departments and agencies. Children and young people were consulted on a variety of topics including the family justice system reform (Department of Justice), mask-wearing in primary schools (National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET), Department of Health), skin cancer research (the National Cancer Control Programme, Department of Health), youth homelessness strategy (Department of Housing), school transport scheme and education anti-bullying plan (Department of Education), among others. Over 50% of Tusla (the Child and Family Agency) completed training in child and youth participation. A public consultation for developing the successor strategy was conducted in January 2023. The Strategy has also laid the bases for practical guidance. Building upon the foundation of the National Strategy, in 2021, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth launched the National Framework for Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making developed by Hub na nÓg in association with Queen’s University Belfast. The Framework provides practical guidance to support departments, agencies and organisations in improving their methods to involve children and young people in the development of policies, legislation, services and research.
Further reading
Department of Children and Youth Affairs (2015), National Strategy On Children And Young People’s Participation In Decision-Making 2015 - 2020; Department of Children and Youth Affairs (2019), Mid-Term Review and Phase Two Action Plan of the National Strategy on Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-Making, 2015-2020; Hub na nÓg (2023), Participation Framework.
This practice also supports the implementation of provision V.1 of the OECD Recommendation on Creating Better Opportunities for Young People.
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