Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jun 1998

Vol. 493 No. 3

Written Answers. - Youth Services.

Pat Rabbitte

Question:

423 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation the progress, if any, made to date in terms of securing corporate funding in support of the drugs programme, as envisaged in the second report of the Ministerial Task Force on Measures to Reduce Demand for Drugs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14870/98]

Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Recreation (Mr. Flood)

As the Deputy will know, the £30 million young people's facilities and services fund is designed to provide facilities and services for young people in areas where a serious drug problem exists, or has the potential to develop. £20 million of the fund is being targeted at the 13 local drugs task force areas.

Under the fund, development groups have been established in the target areas to prepare integrated plans to address the needs of young people in those areas. Recently the Irish Youth Foundation launched an initiative "Companies Caring for Children", also designed to tackle problems faced by young people in areas of disadvantage. The youth foundation will work with the development groups, in selected areas, and with the assessment committee for the young people's facilities and services fund, to help the foundation identify how their contribution can have maximum impact and complement the fund.

"Companies Caring for Children" will focus initially on the four areas being targeted under the Integrated Services Pilot Project, i.e.: Dublin North East Inner City, The Canal Communities, Jobstown in Tallaght, Togher in Cork.

To launch the "Companies Caring for Children" project, the chairman of the Irish Youth Foundation, Mr. Bill Cullen, has committed £250,000 over the next five years on behalf of his company, Renault Ireland. He and deputy chairman, Tony O'Reilly Jr. have set a target of raising £1 million a year through the initiative.

I warmly welcome this initiative by companies to join with the Government in addressing the needs of young people at risk of drug abuse and I look forward to further significant contributions from the corporate sector in this regard.