Teenagers want 'drop-in centre' in Naas
Members of Naas Youth Parliament who are seeking a youth club for teenagers in the town.
NAAS, 27 December 2001: by Trish Whelan. Young people in Naas have nowhere to go to chill out. This sorry fact was brought home to Naas UDC when members of the town’s Youth Parliament asked the Council for a home from home to call their own.
Its chairman Kevin Dillon said results from a recent survey of secondary school pupils in the town showed 92% in favour of setting up their own youth club. He said this is why teenagers gather in groups outside The Gem in Poplar Square - which has led to garda complaints of blocked footpaths.
“There’s no entertainment in Naas, except the cinema, nowhere for us to go to chat, listen to music or watch TV,” he lamented. “And you can only go to the cinema so many times.”
The report was welcomed by UDC chairman Willie Callaghan. But he disagreed that there was nothing for teenagers in Naas. He said many organisations and clubs are crying out for young people to get involved. “To me, it’s a cop out,” he told them. But he saw the need for a youth club in the town.
Cllr Mary Glennon accused the chairman of being ‘a bit harsh’.
“What’s wrong with using the gyms in the various schools,” demanded Cllr Pat O’Reilly. The reply was the cost - £25 an hour to hire a hall.
Pat O’Reilly then said the BOMs of the schools owe it to the tax payers to make the halls available.
Cllr Charlie Byrne said young people want somewhere to go and communicate with each other, not to play a game. It’s a Drop in Centre that’s needed, he urged.
The young people said they need somewhere to go at lunchtime but that the lads would not be allowed into the girls’ school.
Cllr Anthony Egan suggested they look at such facilities in other countries and felt canteens should be available for students in the schools. Cllr Mary Glennon felt the Churches could do more for young people. “Schools and churches here don’t make an effort to grab young people. The Church has loads of properties going a-begging,” she said.
Cllr Pat McCarthy suggested using Tutty’s factory on Friary Road (right) as a Drop In Centre when the UDC buys it in the coming months. He felt it would be a shame to demolish the building for a car park.
Agreeing, Cllr Timmy Conway asked the Youth Parliament to put a proposal to the UDC stating their case.
©2001knn