Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
651. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Social Protection if she wil report on the progress of Ireland's application for funding under the youth employment initiative, the closing date for which is approaching in October 2013. [38089/13]
View answerThe Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) for Ireland will be delivered as part of the new European Social Fund Operational Programme (ESF OP) 2014-2020. This Operational Programme (OP) is currently in the early stages of preparation under the leadership of the Department of Education and Skills. This will involve a consultation phase and negotiations with the European Commission and factoring in the outcomes of the Partnership Agreement process led by DPER. However, at this point, the European Parliament and the European Commission have yet to reach an agreement on the qualifying criteria for funding from the YEI and this is delaying the application for funding. It is anticipated that the OP will be advanced to completion by early 2014.
Implementation plans of each Member State in relation to the Youth Guarantee will have a bearing on their ability to access funding from the YEI. In addition to, and concurrent with our work on the ESF OP, an interdepartmental working group is currently preparing the Implementation Plan for the Youth Guarantee which, when approved by the government, will be submitted to the European Commission at the end of this year. In terms of preparation for implementation, we sought funding from the European Commission (€250,000) for a proposed pilot Youth Guarantee project in the Ballymun area. I am pleased to say that our submission was one of those approved by the Commission for funding and the Ballymun project will commence in October.
