'Little to do' for commuter-belt teens

More then 90 per cent of teenage boys in the Dublin commuter belt do not use music or drama facilities, according to a survey on youth attitudes carried out for the Labour Party.

In addition about 40 per cent of girls who took part do not want to participate in team sports, while many teens of both sexes perceived little to do in commuter towns, with expensive and often unavailable travel limiting the range of options open to them.

The study, which involved questionnaires and focus groups among 400 young people living in Louth, Meath, Wicklow and Kildare found only one in five of the teens surveyed used a youth club. Nany respondents said the key reason was that there wasn’t a youth club in their area.

Older teenagers complained they did not have adequate time for after school activities or youth clubs because of homework demands.

Teens said they wanted more youth clubs and “youth cafes” as well as additional sports facilities and better public transport links.

The survey also compared the responses of 150 of the teenagers living in Drogheda, with those of 150 teenagers living in Haslemere, a town located about 50kilometres outside London in the UK. Both groups complained about largely the same issues and both offered the view that lack of facilities leads to antisocial behaviour.

Irish teens appeared to get slightly more homework than their British counterparts. However the survey revealed Irish teens get more then €15 per week pocket money compared to just €9 in Haslemere.

But according to Labour Senator Dominic Hannigan the extra cash received by Irish teens may be simply because admission prices and transport are more expensive in Ireland.

Mr Hannigan said: “Quite often adults assume they know what the issues are and what life is like for teens growing up in our commuter areas. I thought it was time we asked teenagers directly. That is the purpose of this study. It highlights many issues particularly in relation to access to facilities. As a nation we need to address these deficiencies to enable our teenagers develop their full potential."

He said the Government should use Nama to pay “a social dividend” using some of the empty buildings in towns across the State to house youth groups. He also urged vat or tax incentives for young people to buy bicycles, commenting “young people need ways to get to places of recreation like swimming pools and cinemas.”

Labour Party TD Liz McManus who jointly launched the survey said that on the east coast, where she lived the nearest cinema to Co Dublin was in Arklow, on the Wicklow-Wexford border.