Member's statement: Youth Club For All
Member's statement by Ms Aoife Finnegan on .
- MLA
- Ms Aoife Finnegan
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 14 October 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Youth Club For All
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5180504
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to take a moment to highlight the incredible work that is being done by Youth Club for All in south Armagh — a small, community-led group with a huge heart and an even greater impact. The group was born out of the determination of parents who simply refused to accept that their children with additional needs should be left without a place to belong. When formal inclusion for youth provision was stopped during COVID, those parents, supported by Sinn Féin, worked to reinstate it. Out of that was born Youth Club for All, which provides a safe, inclusive environment where young people with additional and complex needs can socialise, learn and thrive alongside their peers. Over the past two years, Youth Club for All has transformed lives. For many families, it is their only outlet outside of school. For many young people, it is the only opportunity to develop friendships and confidence in a safe space outside of school. Parents have described it as a lifeline, which is exactly what it is. It should never have to rely solely on the goodwill of volunteers and the determination of parents. Those young people deserve consistent, statutory support, not a piecemeal provision that depends on who can fight the hardest. The reality is that the Education Authority has no statutory obligation to provide youth services for children and young people with additional needs. That gap leaves families fighting year after year to secure basic inclusion. It is not good enough. We also have a serious deficit in post-19 services. Too often, when young people with additional needs reach adulthood, the support simply disappears, with no youth club; no meaningful day opportunities; and no funded pathways that recognise their abilities, interests and right to continue participating in community life. Sinn Féin has consistently called for the Government to stand up properly for post-19 youth provision, so that young people with additional needs are not simply left behind once they turn 19. I encourage the Minister of Education and the Department to complete the priorities for youth review as soon as possible. Youth Club for All stands as proof that it works when inclusion is done right and when families, staff and the community work together to make sure that every child is valued and supported. It should not be the exception; it should be the standard. The families involved in Youth Club for All do not want charity. They want fairness, equality and a system that recognises their children as having the same rights as everybody else. It is time for the Education Authority and the Department of Education to step up and take responsibility to ensure that inclusion is not optional but guaranteed.
453 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.05 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.05 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:35 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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