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Youth Services

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 December 2013

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Questions (81)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

81. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department continues to interact with youth organisations with a view to encouraging young persons to develop their confidence and self-esteem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53795/13]

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Written answers

My Department supports the delivery of a range of youth work programmes and services for all young people, including those from disadvantaged communities, by the voluntary youth sector. The 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. In 2013, €53.498m has been made available for services for young people.

Young people benefit hugely from participation in youth work services. There is a growing body of research evidence which highlights how engagement in quality programmes helps young people to acquire important life skills such as confidence, problem solving, resilience and the ability to develop and maintain positive relationships and how it can enhance young people’s competences for communication, leadership and innovation and their employability.

I, and officials of my Department have met, and continue to meet with many youth organisations and groups to see how we can work together to bring about the best possible outcomes for young people having regard to resources available to us and to ensure that the programmes and services being provided are relevant and responsive to young people’s needs.

In keeping with my Department’s responsibilities for children and young people, my Department is developing a new strategy for children and young people. This new five-year Children and Young People’s Policy Framework is being developed in a holistic way which will comprehend the continuum of the life-course from infancy through to early and middle childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. This overarching Framework will provide the basis for more detailed strategies including a new youth policy strategy.

The youth work organisations have a significant contribution to make to the development of the new youth policy strategy. Their experience and knowledge of the challenges that young people face will be important to the new shaping of the new strategy so that it is responsive to young peoples needs. The National Youth Work Advisory Committee, appointed by me in January 2013 and which includes representatives of the national youth organisations as well as Government departments, the Education and Training Boards and other statutory agencies involved in youth matters, is undertaking the preparatory work for the new youth policy strategy. I work closely with the Committee on issues to do with how youth work practice and services can advance key desired outcomes for young people’s wellbeing. It is planned that the youth policy strategy will be substantially progressed for completion in 2014.

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