Mattie McGrath Defends Galway Youth, Slams Government Messaging
Mattie McGrath spoke about incidents involving young people in Galway and Janotee Park, defending their behaviour and criticising government messaging. He argued mixed messages from the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health left students confused after paying fees, returning to college and then being told to stay home or move online.
Main argument
McGrath urged an end to demonising young people and said they deserve praise and a chance to enjoy themselves. He warned that continued criticism of students would have political consequences and insisted people should stop knocking them.
Students' circumstances
He highlighted that many students went back to college last week, paid fees and accommodation, and then faced sudden changes when the government announced on Friday that they could stay home for two weeks. He noted colleges then told students they would have to do courses online, creating confusion for families and students.
Criticism of government messaging
McGrath accused the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health of having "spectacularly dropped the ball" on public health messaging and said mixed messages undermined the government's seriousness on the measures. He said that inconsistency in announcements left parents and students bewildered.
Comparisons and wider issues
He contrasted the focus on young people with other controversies, pointing out that Golfgate "has gone off the agenda completely". McGrath argued authorities should praise the young and give them a chance to leave as well as to enjoy themselves.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
The Taoiseach, there's a sense of outrage today about the young people in Galway last night and the Janotee Park. I don't agree with it. I believe that Muller and Oig and Chuckie Sheet, I think we should be praising our young. They were all left going back to college last week and they paid our fees and they paid accommodation fees as well. And then you announced on Friday evening, the government announced that they could stay at home for two weeks. The people are utterly confused and so are the young people and they don't buy into you that you're serious about this. Because as I said before, yourself and the Minister for Health have spectacularly dropped the ball here on the messaging. So mixed messaging, every parent was allowed to pay in the money last Friday, register pay the fees and then you were told them that even after closing business that they couldn't attend or the colleges told them that they'd have to do it online. Why wouldn't they go? They need some fun in their life too and we should stop knocking them. What about Golfgate? It's gone off the agenda completely. I say keep demonising young people like this and you'll suffer for it. Praise them and give them a chance to leave as well.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
