TEENAGERS WILL MEET to talk about ways to tackle mental health at a junior Dáil event in Dublin next week*.

Dáil na nÓg 2013 has a theme of Let’s Talk About Mental Health and will take place at Croke Park in the capital from 10.30am – 4pm on Friday, 15 November.

The event will involve 200 delegates aged 12-17, from every county in Ireland, who will discuss and vote on recommendations for action on mental health.

The delegates will be addressed by Frances Fitzgerald TD, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs during the event.

Delegates are elected to Dáil na nÓg by their local Comhairle na nÓg, which are child and youth councils in the 34 local authority areas of the country. These comhairle give children and young people a voice in the development of local services and policies.

During the day, delegates will work in discussion groups and will propose recommendations for action, which will be voted on. There will be a panel of experts at the event, including representatives from the HSE and Headstrong.

The teens will identify the things that positively and negatively affect young people’s mental health and two national mental health coordinators will provide information to them during the discussions.

Dáil na nÓg is the national parliament for young people aged 12-18 years and is an initiative of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA).

*The date originally published was incorrect and has been changed to reflect the correct information.

Read: Console seminar to help employers identify warning signs of suicide in their employees>

Read: “I was thinking of killing myself 24 hours a day,” – Irish personalities talk about depression>