Children's Hustings 2024 at The Ark with Children's Right Alliance

On Monday 25 November members of The Ark's Children's Council and school children and young people make their voices heard in this final week of the General Election at a special Children’s Hustings event here at The Ark co-hosted by the Children’s Rights Alliance.

Looking to place children and young people as the focal point of the political agenda, the event, hosted by former RTE news broadcaster Bryan Dobson, put political candidates under the spotlight as they outline how their parties plan to prioritise children and young people across a range of issues.

The Ark and Children's Rights Alliance welcomed the following candidates:

• Aontú: Mairéad Tóibín
• Fine Gael: Mary Seery-Kearney
• Green Party: Joe O’Brien
• Labour: Cathal McCann
• Sinn Féin: Mícheál Mac Donncha
• Social Democrats: Aishling Silke

Candidates were challenged on topical matters such as youth mental health, childcare, education and recreational spaces as they answered questions put to them directly from children and young people on the issues that have a profound impact on their lives.

Aisling (age 12), member of The Ark’s Children’s Council, said: “I am really excited to talk about the important issues in Ireland today.”

Speaking ahead of the event, Aideen Howard, Chief Executive of The Ark emphasised the importance and value of listening to the voice and ideas of children and young people:

“We are delighted to partner again with Children’s Rights Alliance on the Children’s Hustings. The Ark is a child rights-respecting arts organisation where children are at heart of our artistic and institutional decision-making. The hustings is a key opportunity in the electoral cycle for election candidates, policy makers and citizens to hear the concerns and priorities of children and young people and for candidates to set out how they plan to prioritise children and young people in policy making, government formation and the Programme for Government.”

Tanya Ward, Chief Executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance added.

“Every child and young person deserves to have the opportunities and support to reach their full potential – this should be a reality for all children growing up in Ireland. The next Government has the power to truly transform the lives of children and young people but for this to happen we need a Programme for Government that acts as the blueprint for a better and brighter future. Children and young people do not get to vote but they live with the consequences of political decisions every day. Young people are a treasure trove of insight, ideas and innovative solutions when it comes to big societal issues. Today is an opportunity to hear first-hand from them about why and how political leaders should prioritise their needs. Their voices can be and should be used to inform the Programme for Government that will shape our society for generations to come.”

Thank you to the Teddy, Aisling, Nell, Liam, Louise, Chloe, Freya, Oona, Frank, Ali, Tadgh & all the members of The Children's Council for their thought-provoking questions on school resources, access to education, climate change, violence and safer cities, & access to play! Take a look at their questions below.

Liam and Nell
We know our teachers aren't happy with school resources and pay. How do you plan to help teachers with this, and help children have a safe place to go to outside of their own homes?

Louis and Chloe
Some young people are worried they won’t get into the Secondary School they want to go to. How are you going to make sure the education system is fair for everyone in the country?

Freya and Oona
We find that the playgrounds we use aren't always safe or covered. What are your plans to make more safe and accessible recreational spaces for young people?

Frank and Ali
I have seen violence on the streets of Dublin, I think there needs to be more supervision. What are your plans to make the city safer?

These are just some of the topics disccused at the Husting. Other issues that are important to children included: education, school resources, the uneven distribution of hot lunches, access to second-level education, climate change, violence on our streets, playgrounds & recreational areas, homelessness and mental health.

Children's voices need to be heard and the Hustings only highlighted this further. Let’s make sure children and young people’s voices and interests are central considerations in the final week of the election campaign and leading into the next Programme for Government.