Hello John,

I'm delighted to let you know that we launched our new research on youth work in rural Ireland in Castlebar, County Mayo, last Friday.

Youth Work in Rural Ireland is a qualitative research study exploring the provision of youth work in a rural context​. It highlights the challenges facing young people and youth workers, and recommends measures to enhance the provision of youth services outside urban settings and to address the needs of rural youth.
 

Limited public transport is still one of the biggest challenges facing young people living in rural Ireland today, hindering access to a wide range of necessary services, including mental health and sexual health services. That was one of the key messages from the report. To get the full picture and see some of the recommendations for action that emerged, you can read the press release or download the report.

Minister Ring praises ‘timely report’



Officially launching the report on Friday, Minister Michael Ring, TD, stated: “I am delighted to launch this research report, which is a valuable insight into the views of youth workers and young people living in rural Ireland. The publication is extremely timely given my department is in the process of developing a new whole-of-government rural development policy for Ireland.”

We welcome the development of the new rural development policy and hope the findings and recommendations of this report contribute to actions and measures to support as many young people as possible to live and thrive in our rural communities, villages and towns.

I hope you find the report useful, and if you have any questions on it let me know,

Kind regards,

Marie-Claire

Marie-Claire McAleer
Head of Research & Policy
National Youth Council of Ireland