Robert Troy
Question:4. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when funding will be provided to the Attic Youth Café in County Longford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36077/14]
View answerThursday, 25 September 2014
Questions (4)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
I do not usually raise individual constituency matters during Priority Questions but the Attic Youth Café in County Longford is a particularly serious issue. It has been repeatedly promised funding by previous Ministers, the Taoiseach and a local Deputy, yet this youth organisation, which works across the social divide, finds itself in extreme financial trouble. The Minister's officials met with the organisation in the past number of weeks and I ask him for an update on the situation.
This is a very important service for the young people of Longford. It is an issue Deputy James Bannon has brought to my attention repeatedly since I became Minister. I raised the matter with my Department last week.
In 2013, €1.5 million in capital funding was made available to my Department for a youth café scheme. Pobal assisted my Department to administer this scheme. In all, 95 applications with proposals were received and some 30 proposals for new youth café facilities around the country were approved for funding. These projects are now working with Pobal to develop their projects to the next stage of development. An application for funding was received in respect of the Attic Youth Café, however the application was deemed ineligible for the scheme.
Representations on behalf of the project have been received in my Department. Meetings with the then Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and officials were held in January and in May this year. Officials of my Department and Pobal met the project representatives on 11 September 2014. Officials are now undertaking a full examination of all aspects of this case, including information and documentation provided at the meeting. The outcome of this examination will be communicated to the project in the coming weeks. Pending the outcome of this examination my Department is not in a position to determine what steps, if any, may be available to the proposers to advance the project.
My Department does not have available to it a new capital fund for the development of youth cafés in 2014. It is acknowledged that youth cafés offer young people a safe, alcohol-free and drug-free space for recreation, non-formal learning and youth activities. I wish to record my support for these cafés because many younger people are not terribly interested in sport, even though we would encourage it and they need a safe outlet and a safe place in which to socialise.
I had hoped the Minister might enlighten us further. I am aware that Deputy Bannon was involved and he led them to the mess in which they find themselves by promising them in March 2013 that they would get a grant of €100,000. He facilitated a meeting with the then Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, who confirmed at the meeting that they were eligible in 2013. He brought the Taoiseach to visit the youth café. The Taoiseach is very good at making promises when he is in a constituency and he promised that funding would be available. What is happening in this case is indicative of how this Government treats rural Ireland, with the back of its hand. I refer to the level of funding per person for youth projects received by Longford, which is €29.14, whereas our near neighbours in Westmeath, another part of my constituency, have received €146.88.
Is there a mechanism in place? The youth café works across the social divide. The Minister has alluded to the work of youth cafés in the prevention of drug and alcohol use. The Attic Youth Café is working with the midlands drugs task force and with Foróige. It is involved in providing courses for those who have dropped out of school. What funding will be available from the youth guarantee scheme? What level of funding did the Minister's Department receive from the youth guarantee scheme to support children and youth who find themselves out of employment and who need some support? The Attic Youth Café is a flagship project that could give the people of Longford that much needed support.
My Department has supported the development of 100 youth cafés over the period 2011 to 2013. The development of youth café facilities will continue to be advanced should further capital funding become available in future years. Longford youth services receives annual funding from my Department under the special projects for youth scheme. Funding of €74,651 has been allocated to Longford youth services in 2014 to support the provision of services to young people in the locality. My Department spends nearly €50 million on youth services annually.
I asked about Longford and the Attic Youth Café in particular. There is a very great disparity of funding between counties and it is not fair. What is noticeable is that the disparity seems to penalise weaker, smaller counties, as in this case. I asked about the youth guarantee funding which comes from Europe. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs was established to deal with children and youth affairs. What is the Department's budget to support children who need support? Can funding can be made available to make this flagship project happen? As the Minister has rightly said, it is a magnificent project which works across the social divide. Based on the 2011 CSO figures, in excess of 50% of our youth population in Longford participate in the project.
Some of the Deputy's questions relate to specific information which I do not have to hand. I will obtain the information and revert to the Deputy.