Young Carlow people lobby for budget investment
At the launch of Spunout's pre-Budget submission were Kacper Bogalecki, acting CEO Maria Towey and Isobel Solan
YOUNG people from Carlow travelled to Dublin recently to meet local politicians and discuss their priorities for Budget 2026 at the launch of youth support platform Spunout’s pre-Budget submission.
Kate Sheehan and Ashai Fernandez, both members of Spunout’s youth action panel and based in Carlow, joined young people from across the country at Buswells Hotel to lobby Peter Chap Cleere TD and senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn on issues affecting Irish youth.
The pre-Budget submission, created in collaboration with Spunout’s youth action panel – a diverse group of over 200 young people from across Ireland – focuses on lived experiences and calls for significant investment in areas including mental health, youth work, housing, climate action, transport, apprenticeships and healthy relationships.
The submission includes several major funding requests, including €100 million for community-based and statutory youth mental health services, €70 million to train more mental health professionals and €4.1 billion in affordable and cost-rental housing targeted at young people.
Isobel Solan, a member of Spunout’s youth action panel, emphasised the urgency of mental health investment: “Young people across Ireland are facing a mental health crisis that demands urgent, compassionate action. Too many people are struggling in silence.”
She described the proposed €100 million investment as “a lifeline bringing care into communities and creating spaces where young people can feel seen, supported and heard”.
Fellow youth action panel member Kacper Bogalecki, who travelled from Killarney for the event, highlighted housing as a major concern: “For a lot of young people, moving out of home is currently an unaffordable dream. Many of the people I know who have managed to move out are paying high rents or living in unsuitable conditions.”
Maria Towey, acting CEO at Spunout, said the organisation believes “every young person in Ireland should be able to access the support they need, whether that’s mental health care, affordable housing, reliable transport or inclusive spaces to connect”.
She challenged the government to demonstrate that young people are a genuine priority: “This October, the government has its first real chance to prove that young people are a genuine priority. Budget 2026 is where words from the Programme for Government must translate into measurable action.”
