AS I SEE IT
BY MARIANNE HERON
On the face of it, giving cash-strapped 16-year-olds a card worth €100 to buy into culture from next year sounds like a great idea. It could foster autonomy, encourage teens to get off their phones and social media, and get out there to participate in events and purchase books or music.
Reactions to the proposal may vary, though. It’s barely pocket money level at €2 a week, and isn’t there a whiff of appealing to future voters about it – a bit along the lines of Trump’s promise to give everyone in the US $5,000 if the Republican Party are voted in again? (Not much chance of that vote, though, when they won’t be able to buy homes here.)
The value of the card would buy about five books over the year, or stretch to maybe a dozen cinema visits or about four events in venues outside principal theatres. As for affording pop concerts featuring top names – the events many teens are likely to want to attend – forget it! Tickets for Oasis Live 27 at Slane will start from €181.25, and the price of an Electric Picnic camping ticket this year started from €245.50.
Major venues for performances like the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre may advertise tickets from €40, but, like Ryanair, that affordable ticket is likely to end up costing more than double.
Increased accessibility to culture is one of the aims, so why not lower the high price barriers with a card that allows increased discounts for 16-year-olds on top of concession rates for students? It would make the modestly valued card go further and could promote future loyalty to cultural offerings among teens.
The details of how exactly this downloadable card aimed at transition year teens, outlined by Minister for Arts, Media and Culture Patrick O’Donovan, will work are still emerging. Arts, theatre, books and cinema are meant to be covered; workshops and community events may be, but sports events are not, and the list of participating organisations is still being worked on. The card could be extended to 17-year-olds next year if successful.
Culture or activity cards for youth – usually for 18-year-olds – are already used in other countries, including Spain, France and Italy, where the credit on the card may be as much as €500. In Italy, where the cards have been in operation for five years, there was an uptick in participation in events; online and e-book sales in particular benefited, with a 7% increase.
Predictably, the card benefited those on lower incomes most. The Irish card will be universal, but I wonder whether it might be a better idea to give twice the amount of credit to kids in low-income families rather than to the well-off who have the money to spend anyway.
While in the capital and major cities there may be plenty of cultural choice, teens are likely to be up against a price barrier in Dublin. Kilkenny, on the other hand, is blessed with more affordable venues like the Set Theatre for music and comedy, the Watergate Theatre and Cleere’s Bar and Theatre, half a dozen bookshops, and several cinemas, as well as local festivals.
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) have been calling for the introduction of a card for 18 to 24-year-olds since 2024 after Arts Council figures showed a 12% drop in teen participation in cultural events following Covid.
According to Paul Gordon, NYCI Director of Policy and Advocacy: “The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on young people’s ability to experience culture and participation in the arts, and the cost-of-living crisis means many remain locked out of these important activities.”
Sinn Féin have also been advocating an activity card for two years with a proposal to give children between the ages of four and 16 €130 for activities including sport. But does it really matter who had the idea first, when at least a start has now been made?
Elsewhere, recreational cards have helped prevent the kind of activities that bored teens get up to. In Iceland, the recreational card helped reduce anti-social behaviour, substance abuse and minor crimes. On their own, though, such cards are not enough to stop criminal behaviour like the spate of wrong-way driving seen here. They can help, together with comprehensive specialised intervention including parental involvement – something we badly need.
