Tuarascáil maidir leis an gComhairleoireacht Phoiblí don Straitéis Náisiúnta do Leanaí Bunaithe ar thuairisc ó Colgan and Associates

Mí-iompar

Luadh cheana féin sa tuarascáil seo cuid mhaith den imní maidir le mí-iompar chomh fada agus a bhaineann sé leis an timpeallacht, meas ar leanaí agus áiseanna do dhaoine óga.
Coiriúlacht, geaingeanna agus troid, goid, , joy-riding agus creachadóireacht na príomhfhadhbanna.
Bhí tionchar díreach ag an mí-iompar ar shaol roinnt de na daoine óga, ar nós an buachaill óg nach bhfuil in ann codladh mar gheall ar an ngleo a bhíonn ag meisceoirí óga ar an tsráid. Nó na daoine óga a bhfuil an club óige i mbaol a dhúnta orthu mar gheall ar chreachadóireacht.
Mar seo a leanas a cuireadh síos ar an imní atá mar gheall air:
I would like to have a better community. I would like to stop drugs and robbed cars and bikes….I can not get to sleep at night because of the drunk kids. My road is in bits. I wish it could be better. If this can’t be done, then could you get us a park and a better club, because it is cold inside and the toilets are smelly and we would like more equipment.

Paul, aois 13

I live in [named suburb of Cork city]. It is a very rough place. There are vandals all over the place, from aois 4 to 18. If a playground was built here, it would be vandalised because people would have no respect for it….If only adults knew how bored we get with nothing to do. There is the odd disco. Its no picnic getting there, as there are druggies and drunks everywhere who hassle and terrify you. There are fields nearby but they are in bad condition. If we could fix them up we would have one more place to play. There is waste land nearby in which a playground or sports hall could be built.

Jason
Our school is being used as a hangout place for past pupils, we have made a flower bed and they have pulled the flowers out and destroyed our window boxes…writing was all over the school where we had painted pictures which mean a lot to us.

Ciara
Cás na dteifeach agus lucht tóraíochta tearmainn

Déanadh go leor tagairtí do chás na dteifeach agus lucht tóraíochta tearmainn in Éirinn. Luadh freisin an cheist ghinearálta maidir le glacadh le daoine de chiníocha éagsúla. Bhí tuairim spéisiúil amháin ann go raibh glacadh ag leanaí lena chéile ach nach raibh ag daoine fásta.

Bhí trua do theifigh agus do lucht lorgtha tearmainn agus tacaíocht le aon ní a dhéanfadh an Rialtas le cuidiú leo. Ina dhiaidh sin féin, ní mar a chéile na tuairimí uilig ach oiread leis an daonra trí chéile. Bhí roinnt rannpháirtithe a cháin an smaoineamh go ligfí teifigh agus lucht lorgtha tearmainn isteach in Éirinn agus bhí fáilte ag daoine eile rompu. Bhí tuairimí ginearálta ann maidir le foighid agus meas ar a chéile:
I also don’t like some people’s attitude towards black people, they are just the same as us. My best friend Lennel is black and my friend Katherine is too.

Gan ainm
It would be better if Ireland cut down on racism and had better opportunities for travellers and black people.

Louise et al.aois 12

I think Ireland would be a better place if we got all the refugees and black people out, because we have enough problems without them getting in.

Susan

One thing that really annoys me is that Ireland are taking in refugees and housing them but they can’t even house their own people. I don’t have anything against refugees but I simply can’t understand it.

Sarah, aois 12

I think that by bringing more foreign people over to Ireland it adds to our history. The bad thing is that people are discriminating against these people because of colour race or religion. I think it is a good thing there are more Afro/Celtic workshops for kids and adults, but there needs to be more effort to let refugees have more status in Ireland.

Gan ainm

…my sister met a refugee that was very rude for example. She was in McDonalds and a 13 or 14 year old refugee approached her and asked her for money. When she refused because she had just enough money for her lunch, he verbally assaulted her. I have nothing against them, but my sister was scared by the experience.

Andrew
I don’t mind refugees coming into this country, but languaoiss are making them very distant in our relationship with them. Some of them could be doctors or lawyers for all we know. …But the Government are at least trying to improve by putting them up in hostels etc. until they get a job or a life here. Even the hotel near me is being turned into a hostel for refugees. I am glad to see they are being brought off the streets and are being given another chance in life.

Thomas

I think the country is overrun with refugees. OK that might have been the right thing to do at the time, but the war is over and they still come to our country. The state provides them with accommodation, allows them to draw the dole which I think is about £70 pounds a week. They go out and sell the Big Issue and beg. Now there are many Irish people drawing the dole but you don’t see them on the streets begging. I think they should be told to get a job or get out.

Colm

The amount of homeless people on our streets is disgraceful and it has not been helped by the number of refugees on our streets. There have been Irish people living on the streets for years and the refugees have only been here for a couple of months and the Government are already building places for them to live.

Colm

Daoine gan dídean agus lucht déirce

Cé go raibh an dá thuairim ann maidir leis an gcaoi ar cheart caitheamh le teifígh agus lucht lorgtha tearmainn in Éirinn, ní riabh éiginnteacht ar bith i measc na ndaoine óga maidir leis an gcaoi ar cheart déileáil le daoine atá gan dídean nó ag lorg déirce. Bhí bá ag gach duine a luaigh an cheist le cás na ndaoine gan dídean agus bhí siad ag éileamh tuilleadh tearmainn, tuilleadh tithe, cothrom na Féinne agus tuilleadh airgid do dhaoine gan dídean. Ba suntasach an rud é go raibh roinnt leanaí a rinne cur síos i dtús a gcuid litreacha ar na droch-chuinsí maireachtála a bhí acu féin a lean ar aghaidh le scríobh faoin trua a bhí acu do dhaoine gan dídean.

Léiríonn na sleachta seo a leanas brí na dtuairimí a tugadh:
When ever I go to the city, all I see lately is people begging for money. Some might have no socks or shoes on them, and they’ll sit in the stinging cold and you’d feel so sorry for them but you couldn’t give money out to them all. I think only five should be allowed out at a time…If they took turns a different five every day.

Suzie
It would be great if we had much less homeless people. Every time I see a homeless person I feel so sorry. I give them money. One time I gave one some money but he just gave it back. At the time I thought he was mad.

Seán
I think that the Government should spend more money on the homeless people in Ireland than they do on refugees because the homeless here are from our own Country.

Gan ainm

Ceisteanna an tríú domhain

Luaigh go leor rannpháirtithe cás na leanaí i dtíortha an Tríú Domhan. Luaigh daoine óga a d’fhreastail ar an bhfóram comhairle a d’eagraigh an Development Education Forum for Youth ceisteanna maidir leis an tríú domhan agus an imní a bhí orthu maidir le leanaí an domhain fhorbartha go ginearálta.

I gcás leanaí i dtíortha an Tríú Domhain, luadh imní maidir le gorta, bagairt ó airm niúicléacha, easpa oideachais agus easpa eolais maidir le cearta daonna. Luadh freisin imní maidir le rialtaisí éillitheacha, neamhionadaíocha, bochtanas, fiacha, cogaíocht agus foréigean chomh maith le ábhair faoi leith ar nós pósadh a bheidh á shocrú do dhaoine óga.
Luaigh an grúpa céanna fadhbanna maidir le AIDS, ciníochas ó thaobh cultúir agus reiligiúin agus bagairtí don timpeallacht.

Seirbhísí poiblí

Bhí roinnt seirbhísí poiblí a ndearna leanaí trácht orthu. Iompar poiblí, cúram linbh, tacaíocht ioncaim, seirbhísí sláinte agus tithíocht na ceisteanna is mó ar tráchtadh orthu.

Cé go mba tuairimí ginearálta a bhí iontu go hiondúil, bhí uaireanta ann a raibh daoine óga ag tarraingt aird ar a dtaithí féin ar na seirbhísí.
Maidir le iompar poiblí, bhí go leor trácht ar iomarca daoine a bheith ar thraentacha DART. Rinne leanbh amháin cur síos ar an scáth a bhain lena bheith á bhrú ag daoine fásta agus shíl sé go mba cheart carráistí ar leith a bheith ann do leanaí.
Bhí an droch-chóras iompair faoin tuath ar an ábhar gearáin ba mhó ina dhiaidh sin.
Labhair daoine óga ar an ngá atá le seirbhís cúram linbh níos saoire agus níos insroichte go háirithe ag tuismitheoirí atá ar bheagán ioncaim. Bhí grúpa amháin a shíl gur cheart go mbeadh teacht ag gach fostaí ar an scéim “term-time” a bhfuil leas as ag státseirbhísí, trína nglactar am saor le linn saoire an tsamhraidh a bheith ag na leanaí agus laghdú dá réir ar an bpá.
Bhí roinnt moltaí ann maidir le tacaíocht ioncaim – timpeall is deich bpunt nó dhá phunt déag – a íoc go díreach le leanaí.

Moladh freisin go n-ardófaí ioncaim thuismitheoirí gan chéile agus thuismitheoirí leanaí a bhfuil tinneas fadtéarmach orthu.

Facthas gur bhain riachtanas le cúnamh do thuismitheoirí leanaí atá faoi mhíchumas, chomh maith le feabhas a chur ar sheirbhísí ospidéil agus giorrú a dhéanamh ar liostaí na ndaoine atá ag fanacht le aird.
Tá roinnt de na riachtanais seirbhíse is géire a theastaíonn go pearsanta le sonrú óna sleachta seo a leanas:

My Mammy is a single parent and she wants a part time job. She has very little money.

Seamus

My mammy takes me for counselling and we get two buses and travelled a long way….we could be cold, wet but we still get two buses there and two buses back. My mammy has no help and I have brothers that my mammy has to look after. The Government and Health Board needs to do a bit more for children like me and maybe give me and my family a holiday or more help from the Health Board or other services…

Gan ainm
Agus déanadh na ráitis seo a leanas maidir le bochtanas:
However, one thing which I think could be improved is the price to take part in these activities. Children who live in families with a low income are very unfortunate. Most activities are highly expensive to be part of. For example, Irish dancing costs approximately two pounds per week. On top of that is the cost of dancing shoes, costumes etc.
At the end of the day you can choose a lot of things in life but you cannot choose a family and it is a shame children must suffer because their family does not have a large income.

Erica

2.7 An lucht siúil, daoine gan dídean, daoine faoi chúram
Cé go raibh go leor daoine óga buartha go mór faoi daoine gan dídean, bhí sé d’ádh orthu nach raibh taithí ghlan acu ar mhaireachtáil mar dhuine den lucht siúil, mar dhuine gan dídean nó mar dhuine faoi chúram.
Tugtar tuairisc ar an taithí saoil sin arís sa roinn seo trí scéalta agus focla na ndaoine óga féin.