Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 November 2013
396. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the increase and decline of youth populations in counties is taken into account when resources are distributed; if she has undertaken a review of the agencies in charge of distributing resources in respect of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47927/13]
View answer397. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in respect of youth funding, the way the amount and rate of funding per funding body is determined; the factors that go into determining the amount of funding each body receives; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47929/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 396 and 397 together.
Funding of €53.498m, including €1.75m for a new capital funding programme, has been provided to my Department in 2013 for the provision of youth services and programmes to young people throughout the country through a number of schemes.
The schemes include:
- the Youth Service Grant Scheme, which supports 31 national youth organisations;
- the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund Rounds 1 and 2, and Local Drug Task Force projects, which support 477 local projects for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people; and
- the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme and other youth services including the Youth Information Centres.
Altogether, these funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 400,000 young people and involve approximately 1,400 paid staff and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country. Due to budgetary constraints, no new projects have been admitted to these schemes since 2008.
The allocations for the national youth organisations and for local projects and services are determined, in the first instance, by my Department having regard to the available budget under the schemes. The process for the local youth projects throughout the country involves the submission of an annual/ renewal application for funding and an annual progress report in which the project details the target cohort of young people for their services, the programmes that are provided, their objectives and the overall number of young people that have participated in services. The local Education and Training Board (ETB) youth officer, where appropriate, has a role in recommending the relevant project for continued funding. The process that support projects for marginalised and disadvantaged young people has not, since the inception of the schemes, had reference to county level data on demographic trends in the youth population.
The funding for the 477 local youth projects is administered on behalf of my Department by, in the main, by the ETBs. Pobal administers the funding for the 31 national youth organisations. The allocations for local projects which are initially determined by my Department, are notified to the relevant ETB at the beginning of the year. In recent years, my Department has afforded the ETBs the flexibility to reconfigure the allocations to the youth projects in their area, within and across the funding schemes, where this is appropriate to their local needs and provided they remain within their overall budget. Any proposals for amalgamations/reconfiguration of the allocations to individual projects are subject to my Department’s approval.
The funding for the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme, however, under which 1,600 local youth clubs (with 10,000 participants) benefit each year, is allocated by my Department to the Education and Training Boards on the basis of youth population numbers.
My Department has commenced a comprehensive Value for Money and Policy Review of the youth funding schemes. This review is considering the rationale and objectives of the current youth funding schemes and, inter alia, to what extent the schemes have been effective in achieving these objectives and their compatibility with the overall strategy of my Department. It is anticipated that the review, which is nearing completion, will make recommendations for the future operation of the schemes. It is also expected to inform the youth strategy which is being developed by my Department. The youth strategy will promote co-ordination between Government departments and youth sector organisations with a view to maximising the effectiveness of the State funding available to support services for young people in future years.
