Sinn Féin Councillor Debbie McCole has submitted a motion to this month’s County Council meeting asking Louth Councillors to send a clear message to the Minister for Education following the ‘disgraceful’ decision to end the WALK Peer Programme which supports young people with disabilities in the County.
The programme helps young people with additional educational needs make the transition from school to further education, training or employment.
It currently supports students attending schools including St Ita’s in Drogheda, St Brigid’s in Dundalk and Ballymakenny College.
Cllr McCole wants councillors to send a united message to the Minister for Education and Youth, calling for the programme to continue.
Supporting young people after school
Speaking before this month’s County Council meeting, Cllr McCole said:
The WALK Peer programme is an incredible, unique and hugely successful programme that supports young people with disabilities to bridge the gap between finishing school and further education or employment. When you talk to parents of young people with disabilities, one of the concerns they have is always what their child will do when school finishes, what comes next?
WALK Peer addressed a lot of those anxieties as they bridge that gap and support students to transition to either further education or training and employment. This vital support and mentoring ensures that our vulnerable young people are not left behind or abandoned. Do not underestimate the power of this service, it can empower, change and shape our young people for the rest of their lives.
The WALK PEER programme provides individual career planning, work experience opportunities and ongoing guidance to young people preparing to leave school.
Careers and employment facilitators work with students during their final two years of school and can continue supporting them for up to three years afterwards.
The programme’s future has been the subject of discussions in the Dáil, with concerns raised about what will happen when its current funding ends in December 2026.
Call for Louth councillors to unite
Cllr McCole described the decision to wind up the programme as “disgraceful” and said local representatives needed to add their voices to those seeking its continuation.
Our TD Joanna Byrne has brought this disgraceful decision to the Dáil but we as local councillors need to add our voices and demand that this decision to wind up the programme be reversed. This decision will have real and lasting consequences for young people with disabilities in Drogheda and Dundalk , who already face multiple challenges and barriers. It’s not right and it isn’t fair.
We can and must stand up for the families and young people we represent. This motion can send a clear message with one voice from Louth Council Chamber. Reverse the decision to end the WALK Peer programme.
The motion has been submitted for consideration at this month’s Louth County Council meeting.
