Local youth grill election candidates ahead of poll

THE youth of Dublin 15 might not be eligible to vote in yesterday’s election but that didn’t stop them giving the candidates a grilling last week.

The clash of generations took place at Fingal County Council civic offices on Grove Road, Blanchardstown, where the political hopefuls answered a barrage of questions.

The event was organised by Foróige, the national youth development organisation that works with around 3,000 young people across Dublin 15 in a variety of different clubs, projects and services.

Chaired by Daniel Whooley, a member of Foroige’s National Council, the interactive session enabled a selected group of young people nominated from Dublin 15 youth projects to ask local political candidates about issues related to youth.

Politicians in attendance were Cllr Jack Chambers (FF), Cllr Paul Donnelly (SF), Cllr David McGuinness (FF) and Cllr Roderic O’Gorman (GP).

The session gave the youngsters a chance to keep abreast of political developments in the area and they were well prepared beforehand.

The youngsters took part in a four-week politics programme in their local project or service, with the support of their youth workers. This allowed them to identify issues affecting them, so they could discuss their local and national concerns and consider questions that they posed to the general election candidates.

There are 18 Foróige operated and managed projects in the Dublin 15 area and 40 Foróige clubs.