To date, financial requests for 2003 totalling €2.71 million have been received from 26 vocational education committees for costs relating to the implementation of the Youth Work Act 2001. The estimated cost of the expenses of the National Youth Work Advisory Committee and its sub-committees for 2003 is €12,000.
Sections 2-17, 18 and 24 of the Youth Work Act 2001 have been commenced. Further to the reply to a parliamentary question on 5 November 2002, the sub-committee of NWYAC dealing with the implementation aspects of the Youth Work Act 2001 has now furnished the following three reports to the Minister of State with responsibility for youth affairs for her consideration: Guidelines for the Establishment of Voluntary Youth Councils; Criteria for Approval of National Voluntary Youth Organisations and Criteria for the Designation of Local Voluntary Youth Work Organisations.
The work of this sub-committee is ongoing. Its terms of reference have recently been expanded and it will now provide advice to the National Youth Work Advisory Committee and the Minister on the guidelines, regulations and timeframe for the implementation of sections 11, 13-15, 16, 19, 20, 25 and 32-35 of the Youth Work Act 2001. Work in this regard is in progress.
It is my intention that discussions will continue contemporaneously within NYWAC and separately between my Department, the IVEA-CEOs' Association, the National Youth Council of Ireland and other youth interests groups in regard to the funding and human resources aspects of the implementation of the Youth Work Act 2001.
