Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 February 2024
124. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the total financial allocation from his Department in 2023 for youth services; if any new services were established during the course of 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9726/24]
View answerThe allocation to youth services in 2023 was €75.6 million.
The increases to the Budget 2023 allocation focused on further investment in the existing local and national youth organisations, in particular the funding schemes of UBU Your Place Your Space, the Youth Services Grant Scheme and Youth Information Centres, which allowed for potential expansion of existing services.
While no new youth services were established in 2023, from 2021 to 2022 my Department provided funding for 16 new services under UBU Your Place Your Space, including a number in rural areas in Kerry, Clare, Mayo and Donegal. The new services and augmented allocations were secured by the current funding provided in Budget 2023.
In addition, I initiated a reform of the Youth Service Grant Scheme and commissioned research to inform plans to modernise youth information funding. This is the first time either of these funding schemes have received such attention in many years and will provide the basis to support new organisations and services.
The financial allocation for youth services in 2023 requested by the Deputy is provided in the below table.
Youth Funding 2023
|
Current Funding |
Amount |
|
Youth Services Grant Scheme |
€13,402,061 |
|
Youth Information Centres |
€1,534,012 |
|
ETB Youth Grant |
€5,007,879 |
|
Local Youth Club Grant Scheme |
€2,500,000 |
|
New Initiatives and other funding streams |
€861,645 |
|
Policy and Support Programmes (inc. contingency) |
€1,399,922 |
|
Other National Youth Organisations and Youth Initiatives |
€1,952,353 |
|
UBU Your Place Your Space Funding Scheme and other targeted youth funding |
€46,290,128 |
|
Total |
€72,948,000 |
|
Capital Funding |
Amount |
|
Youth Capital Funding |
€2,250,000 |
|
Play and Recreation Funding |
€450,000 |
|
Total |
€2,700,000 |
