My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people and involve approximately, 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country. In 2014, funding of €49.78m was provided to my Department for these schemes.
The funding allocated by my Department in respect of the schemes indicated in the Deputy's question is set out in the table, below.
|
Scheme
|
2014
|
|
Youth Service Grant Scheme
|
€9.949m
|
|
Special Projects for Youth
|
€14.4m
|
|
Young Peoples Facilities and Services Fund (Round 1 and 2)
|
€18.397m
|
|
Local Youth Club Grant Scheme
|
€1.035m
|
|
Youth Information Centres
|
€1.234m
|
|
Local Drug Task Force projects
|
€1.151m
|
In addition, in 2014 a capital allocation of €500,000 was made available to fund small capital projects in the youth services. Some 50 local youth projects received grants under the scheme.
Details of the youth organisations and youth projects throughout the country that received funding under each of the schemes are being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy.
My Department is developing a National Youth Strategy. The new strategy will be based on Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People. It will be a universal strategy for all young people aged 10 to 24 years. It will have a particular focus on those who are most disadvantaged or at risk and who have the poorest outcomes and therefore in most need of support.
A consultation on the new strategy is underway at present. It includes consultation on the priorities for the new strategy and the findings of the recently completed Value for Money and Policy Review of Youth Programmes that target disadvantaged young people. The review makes recommendations for the future operation of youth funding schemes and their development in the years ahead to ensure effective, evidence based value for money programmes designed to ensure the optimal outcomes for young people who are at risk of disadvantage and in need of additional support. It is my intention that the recommendations in the review will be progressed over 2015 and 2016 in the context of the new Youth Strategy.
The consultation on the new National Youth Strategy will run to the end of this month and I anticipate that the strategy will be completed promptly thereafter.
