I welcome the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan.
Adjournment Matters
Youth Work Supports
I also welcome the Minister who is taking the motion on behalf of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald.
The matter concerns the Being Young and Irish initiative, a project of Uachtarán na hÉireann, and arises from the publication of a report.
Approximately 800 young people took part in the first presidential seminar to produce a Take Charge of Change declaration which not only offers a wide range of policy areas but also commits young people in Ireland to take ownership of change in their own communities and daily lives.
The report entitled, Being Young and Irish, was produced by researchers from the Dublin Institute of Technology for Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins and the Being Young and Irish implementation group at Áras an Uachtaráin. The report captured the views of nearly 800 young people who took part in a wide-ranging consultation process over a number of months earlier this year. Contributions were made by e-mail, post and video. It was an integrated and dynamic process to include as many young people as possible and to hear as many views as possible.
The most common recurring themes were issues of employment and unemployment, the economy, sustainable economies, social security, political reform and accountability, education for life, equality, the involvement of young people in institutional decision-making, positive thinking, health and mental health, community, civil society, solidarity, cultural identity and language issues.
We have been told that young people are disengaged from the political system. The proposals in this report and also the Taking Charge of Change declaration demonstrate that this is not necessarily the case. We do not want the Government to sit on this report because we do not wish to alienate young people from the decision-making democratic process. I ask the Minister if any proposals from the Being Young and Irish initiative will be pursued and whether there is a proposed timeline for its implementation. Has there been any interaction with the group? These proposals are the result of a very wide-ranging consultation process with 800 young people and from the participants in the regional conferences. The presidency seminar was held only 11 days ago in Áras an Uachtaráin.
I raised this matter because I do not want this initiative to be lost. The Government should embrace the initiative which has been the focus of such wide-ranging dialogue and consultation.
I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, who is unable to be present to take this Adjournment matter. I thank the Senator for raising it.
The Ministe was delighted to join the President in welcoming the launch of the report on the Being Young and Irish initiative on Saturday. The Minister paid tribute, not just to the impressive work that took place in developing the declaration, but to the detailed consultations with young people held earlier this year, in which they were invited to share their views through multimedia and at four regional workshops.
There are more than 600,000 young people in Ireland in the age range 17 to 26 years. This is the age range which is presented in the report, representing a comprehensive study of range of issues. A number of these issues apply to a wider age range, and are being considered in a broader context. However, the views of this age cohort must be given equal standing as those from other sectors of society.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is developing a children and young people's policy framework to set priorities for the period 2013 to 2017. The framework will provide a whole-of-government policy approach for children and young people. Within this overall policy framework a more detailed youth strategy will be developed. The Department will look carefully at the report in developing both the policy framework and the youth strategy.
The Minister for Children and Youth affairs is fully committed to the participation of young people in decision-making. The Department supports the work of 34 Comhairle na nÓg groups which act as local councils for those aged 12 to 18 years. Greater consideration needs to be given to participation by young adults. It is sometimes assumed that as young people over 18 have the vote they are as well positioned as anyone else to influence decisions. However, as the experience of the women's movement shows, the franchise is only the starting point in having one's voice heard. In developing the youth strategy, the Department will consider how citizen participation by young adults can be promoted.
The Department has conducted a consultation of 67,000 children and young people to inform the policy framework and the youth strategy. A further public consultation was conducted recently, in which members of the general public were invited to participate. This invitation led to over 1,000 submissions which are being analysed. The output of the Being Young and Irish initiative provides us with another important resource in this process, as young adults represent a distinct and important cohort who must also be heard.
The need for an overhaul of the education system is highlighted in the report. Last month the Government announced plans for a radical reform of the junior cycle. The reforms recognise the need to promote a model of education which is attuned to a more rapidly changing world. The transition from second to third level is also being examined by my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, in conjunction with the HEA and the universities.
The report shows that the issue of positive mental health is a priority for young people. The Government has made available an additional €35 million this year to improve mental health services, of which an additional €3 million is to be used in suicide prevention measures. The issue of alcohol was highlighted in the consultations. The Government will shortly consider proposals to assist in tackling problematic alcohol use. The Government has a leadership role to play in this issue, but it will require a commitment from a much wider range of actors if we, as a society, are to achieve a healthier relationship with alcohol.
One of the most important issues facing us is youth unemployment. We must revitalise the economy to meet the very significant challenge that this poses us. We must also further develop the effectiveness of training and labour market supports for young people to enable them to acquire the skills and resilience needed to gain and maintain employment in a much more uncertain world.
The consultation report and declaration are much more comprehensive than it is possible to do justice to in my brief remarks. The Minister will draw on this work in the youth strategy being developed by her Department next year. The Minister will also bring relevant recommendations to other colleagues in government.
Departmental Budgets
Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Táim thar a bheith sásta gur é féin atá anseo leis an cheist seo a fhreagairt. Tá gach duine ag faire na bpinginí maidir le cúrsaí buiséid agus mar sin de, agus ní haon iontas an tAire ina measc. Táim cinnte go bhfuil sin á dhéanamh aige. I welcome the Minister to the House. I appreciate that as the senior Minister in the Department he has come to the House to reply to my matter on the Adjournment which relates to the overall departmental budget. My questions are straightforward. At this stage of the year, how much of his Department's budget has been spent? Is the Department running a deficit or a surplus? What measures does the Minister intend to take to deal with that deficit or surplus? My questions are in the context of the overall comprehensive review of expenditure. I am aware the Department needed to make savings of €6 million this year and that the indicative savings for 2013 will mean a need to slice another €10 million, with savings of €12 million in 2014. Many groups and organisations are looking for support from the Department from the arts, heritage, cultural and language areas and under headings such as North-South co-operation.
My area of expertise is in the arts, Gaeltacht and Irish language areas. Organisations such as Údarás na Gaeltachta have suffered funding cuts under the previous Government. Capital funding of €25 million a number of years ago has decreased to €6 million. Capital funding is used to create employment in Gaeltacht areas. Many of these organisations are strapped for cash. I know the Minister intends that all the cash available to him will be made available as funding. He indicated at a number of recent meetings about the Aran Islands air service that cuts in the departmental budget of 6% and 10% will be made next year. We need to have information from the Minister as to the state of his Department's budget for 2012. What are his plans to ensure that any remaining moneys are spent before the end of the year?
What are the Minister's plans to ensure that happens or if he has overspent in any particular areas, how does he intend to compensate for that to ensure compliance with budgetary targets. Bheinn an-bhuíoch freagra a fháil ar seo agus táim thar a bheith buíoch don Aire as bheith linn.
I thank the Senator for raising the matter in a practical and reasonable fashion. As he will be aware, my Department oversees and has policy responsibility for the conservation, preservation, protection, development and presentation of Ireland's heritage and culture. My Department also seeks to promote the Irish language, to support the Gaeltacht and to assist the sustainable development of island communities. A gross provision of €268.451 million was provided to my Department for this purpose in 2012, €225.541 million for current expenditure and a further €43 million for capital expenditure. A further €8.6 million is allocated to the National Gallery Vote, of which €7.6 million is current and €l million is capital.
Details of the individual expenditure allocations at subhead level are published in the Revised Estimates Volume. Published profiles of expenditure for 2012 at Vote group level, which would include both my Department and the National Gallery, are available on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's website. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform also publishes, on an ongoing basis, details of my Vote group's monthly expenditure with reference to these published profiles.
As Members will appreciate, a consequence of the significant fiscal deficit facing the country is that we just have not had the resources available in recent years to fund all the services that we would like to provide and my 2012 allocation reflects this position. Accordingly, I am very committed to ensuring that the maximum value is derived from within these provisions in terms of maintaining, promoting and protecting Ireland's heritage and culture, developing cultural tourism, advancing the use of the Irish language, and supporting the sustainable development of the islands. This is clearly reflected in the fact that in 2011, excluding departmental administration, my Department expended approximately 99.76% of its available programme funding.
The Senator will also be aware that while monitoring and management of my Department's expenditure relative to profile at subhead level is carried out on a routine basis, such ongoing expenditure figures are provisional and subject to verification internally through my Department's financial management system and, ultimately, by the Comptroller and Auditor General. I consider that publication of detailed interim expenditure reports at subhead level before year end would require an additional layer of verification and a disproportionate amount of time and work on an ongoing basis that would be difficult to justify. Nevertheless, for the Senator's information, on 31 October 2012, my Department's gross expenditure at 31 October totalled €211.3 million, which is on target at 96% of profile. This represents approximately 79% of the total REV allocation for the year. Current expenditure accounts for just under €185 million of this total, 98% of profile, with capital expenditure at €26.4 million, 84% of profile, accounting for the remainder.
As with last year, I expect that close to my Department's full provision will be utilised and no significant surpluses or deficits are envisaged. I will, of course, continue to closely monitor expenditure trends across all my Department's subheads in the lead up to year end and in line with public financial procedures where necessary I will, under the specific authority of the Minister for Finance, seek to find savings within certain subheads to meet pressures on other subheads within the Department's overall allocation.
We have a monthly meeting at which we look at all expenditure right across the Department. As it is a small Department compared to the Departments of Social Protection, Health, or Education and Skills, it is easy to identify where money is being spent or is not being spent. That is the reason we have had almost a maximum spend before the end of the year. If moneys have not been drawn down before the end of the year obviously they can be transferred to other areas. There will be very little scope to do that because the amount remaining will be very small owing to the pressure on financing.
In the four programme areas of my Department there has been a reduction in funding since 2008 of almost €247 million or 51%. I am left with a very tight budget to look after the arts, culture, the Gaeltacht, the islands and so on.
I thank my officials and the organisations that spend the money. They do a very good job at getting more for much less. They are working hard with the available resources to retain the services as much as possible.
Táim thar a bheith buíoch don Aire as an bhfreagra sin. It is good to see there is tight management and that the Minister is confident that the moneys will be spent and spent well. I note that the Department has suffered a huge decrease in funding in recent years. I note for the Gaeltacht and the islands there has been a 64% reduction in the spend. From my rudimentary knowledge of these types of budgets, the Minister notes that current expenditure accounts for just under €185 million of the total which is 98% of the profile. I note that at the end of October 98% of the current expenditure is spent. Is that an overspend in the sense that there are still two months to go with only 2% of the budget profile remaining? Perhaps the Minister would clarify that issue, or it may be an accounting issue.
It is not. It is current expenditure that is committed for salaries and so on. The Department is well within its limits. I acknowledge that the officials in my Department, who may have been in various Departments for some time, are experienced in that respect and are efficient and so on. We are well on target. The Department has managed well. There will be no issue, be it current or otherwise. Sometimes under capital expenditure we expect projects to be completed but for contractual or tendering reasons they may not. Issues could arise as invoices may not be submitted because the contractor may have a difficulty and that could pose a difficulty. If the invoice is not produced the money is still available. That is an issue about which we must be vigilant to ensure it does not happen at the end of the year. My officials are in constant contact with projects which are pending to ensure they are completed, that invoices are submitted and that there is proper verification.
The Seanad adjourned at 12.50 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 27 November 2012.