Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 March 2015
172. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the implications of the European Union directive on public procurement, which will be transposed by 2016, on youth work services; if his Department has had discussions with the youth work sector on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10830/15]
View answerMy 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 2015, funding of €49.93m has been provided to my Department for these schemes.
The Deputy will be aware that three of the targeted funding schemes, the Special Projects for Youth scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund, and Local Drug Task Force projects scheme, were the subject of a recently completed Value for Money and Policy Review. The review covered the period 2010 to 2012. In 2012, expenditure on the schemes amounted to €39.7m. The review involved an in-depth scrutiny of a complex area to do with the impact youth service provision has in young people’s lives.
Overall, the review found that the youth programmes can provide a significant contribution to improving outcomes for young people, and should be considered for on-going public funding.
The review makes a number of recommendations for the future operation of the youth schemes and their development in the years ahead. It recommends that the three existing schemes be replaced with a single, targeted, evidence-based and outcomes focused scheme designed to secure the optimal outcomes for young people and their communities. The findings and recommendations of the review are being discussed by stakeholders in the consultations on the new proposed new National Youth Strategy. I intend that the reforms recommended in the review will be progressed in the context of the new Strategy.
The work on the development of a new funding scheme has been prioritised by my Department together with the development of the data management systems that will support good performance oversight of the youth programmes and provide assurance about efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of services that secure optimal outcomes for young people.
My Department is examining the implications of the EU Directive on Public Procurement. Any implications the new Directive may have for the provision of services by my Department, including support for the provision of youth services by the voluntary youth sector, will be considered in full consultation with the youth sector in the context of the National Youth Strategy 2015 - 2020.
