Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2015
151. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if all sections of the Youth Work Act 2001 have been commenced; if the reviews of the Act and the National Youth Work Development Plan have been completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7755/15]
View answerThe Youth Work Act 2001 provides for certain arrangements to do with the organisation and administration of youth work policy and provision. Sections 2-7, 17, 18 and 24 of the Act have been commenced. Sections 17 and 18 of the Act provide for the appointment of a National Youth Work Advisory Committee. The Committee has an advisory and consultative role to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in matters to do with youth work, including the coordination of youth work programmes and services. In line with these provisions, a new National Youth Work Advisory Committee was appointed by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs with a term of office of one year with effect from 28 January 2013. The Committee continues to work with the Department and is currently assisting with the development of the new National Youth Strategy, in particular in identifying in what ways the youth sector can contribute to shared policy objectives for young people.
The National Youth Work Development Plan (2003-2007) was prepared by the first National Youth Work Advisory Committee at the request of the then Minister for Education and Science and published in 2003.
Since the enactment of the Youth Work Act, in 2001 and the publication of the National Youth Development Plan in 2003, there have been significant policy and legislative developments that are relevant to the provision of youth services. These include, the introduction of Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, the national policy framework for children and young people, the setting up of the North South Education and Training Standards Committee for youth work and the introduction of the Education and Training Boards, Act 2013 which, inter alia, provides for a statutory function for Education and Training Boards in supporting the provision and assessment of youth work services at local level. At EU level, the Council of Ministers for Youth has adopted an EU Youth Strategy and has taken a number of policy initiatives to promote quality in the provision of youth work services.
Following the completion of the new National Youth Strategy, I intend that the provisions of the Youth Work Act 2001 will be considered in the light of these developments and in relation the implementation arrangements to be put in place to achieve the strategy’s objectives and to secure the best possible outcomes for young people.
The consultation on the National Youth Strategy will continue until the end of this month and I anticipate that the strategy will be completed promptly thereafter.
