I propose to take Questions Nos. 270 to 272, inclusive, together.
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 involving approximately 1,400 youth work staff and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country.
Budget 2017 provided an additional €5.5m in current funding to my Department to support the provision of these youth services. This will bring total youth funding in 2017 to €57.4m. This additional funding has been used for programmes that target disadvantaged young people and to assist national youth organisations in their work to support local voluntary youth services. The following table shows the 2016 and 2017 allocations, broken down by funding line:
Fund
|
2016
|
2017
|
Special Projects for Youth
|
€14,061,769
|
€14,764,857
|
Young People's Facilities and Services Fund (Round 1)
|
€5,279,042
|
€5,542,994
|
Young People's Facilities and Services Fund (Round 2)
|
€12,675,829
|
€13,309,620
|
Local Drugs Task Force Projects
|
€1,123,829
|
€1,180,021
|
Targeted funds total
|
€33,140,469
|
€34,797,492
|
Youth Information Centres
|
€1,216,562
|
€1,277,390
|
Youth Service Grant Scheme
|
€10,148,980
|
€10,651,765
|
Sample VFMPR Projects
|
€418,535
|
€2,029,462
|
Local Youth Club Grant Scheme
|
€1,997,068
|
€2,103,568
|
Youth Officer Allocation and Technical Assistance
|
€3,166,372
|
€3,423,374
|
LGBTI+ Youth Strategy
|
0
|
€400,000
|
Other National Youth Organisations and Youth Initiatives
|
€1,511,073
|
€1,635,281
|
DCYA Policy and Support Programmes
|
€286,118
|
€476,669
|
New Initiatives and other funding streams within Department
|
0
|
€600,000
|
Total
|
€51,885,179
|
€57,395,000
|