New research reveals that young people who were already "most at risk" became the most disconnected from youth services and supports due to covid-19.
The National Youth Council of Ireland reports that 14 per cent of youth services were unable to provide a service during lockdown, something which impacted almost 7,000 young people.
The report also found that one in four youth projects struggled to switch to digital and online youth work because young people lacked adequate digital access.
Almost 70 per cent of youth service respondents also cited young people’s reluctance to engage digitally as a major challenge.
Marie Claire McAleer, head of policy and research at NYCI, told Shannonside Northern Sound that "digital poverty" was a major problem in delivering youth services during lockdown:
