Comhairle na nÓg
What is it?
Comhairle na nÓg are child and youth councils in the 31 local authorities of the country, which give children and young people the opportunity to be involved in the development of local services and policies. Monaghan Comhairle na nOg are made up of young people from all across county Monaghan. Members from Comhairle na nOg consist of young people from secondary schools in Ballybay, Clones, Castleblayney, Carrickmacross and Monaghan and youth organisations such as Youth Work Ireland Cavan Monaghan and Foroige. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund and Monaghan County Council provide money to support Monaghan Comhairle na nÓg and it is currently delivered by Youth Work Ireland Cavan Monaghan with the support of Monaghan County Council.
What we do:
The core programme of Monaghan Comhairle na nÓg centres on young people identifying, prioritising and progressing topics important to them. Our members then try to influence local decision-makers to achieve their desired outcome, impact or change.
Who is it for?
Monaghan Comhairle na nÓg is for young people under the age of 18 and who therefore have no other voting mechanism to have their voice heard. Monaghan Comhairle na nÓg is designed to enable young people to have a voice on the services, policies and issues that affect them in their local area.
Key Topic for 2020
The key topic Monaghan Comhairle na nOg are working on in 2020 is; Inclusion and Disabilities. Previous groups have worked on Promoting positive relationships, Mental Health and LGBT+
How can you get involved?
New members join through the Monaghan Comhairle na nÓg Annual General Meeting which is held in October of each year. Young people are invited from local schools and youth groups. The aim is to have a broad representative of the young people of the area as possible. At the AGMs, a large number of local young people come together to discuss the issues that are of importance to them. In most cases, new members for Comhairle are selected/elected during the AGM. Comhairle meetings generally take place every three to four weeks where members research their topic and work to influence local decision makers. For more information about Comhairle na nÓg contact:
- Liam – 087 7201516 ldevanney@ywimonaghan.ie
- Grainne – 087 3753274 grainne@ywimonaghan.ie
Please see our Facebook page for more info.