Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 March 2023
882. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth how he and his Department are supporting the youth work sector to engage as many young people as possible, given that youth work is an effective form of early intervention and prevention for a range of adverse outcomes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12406/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraFrom 2020 to Budget 2023, current Exchequer funding for youth services and programmes increased from €61.789 million to €72.948 million, an 18% increase overall.
The funding provided by my Department has enabled the youth sector to continue to provide supports to young people, particularly to marginalised, disadvantaged and vulnerable young people. The increased funding since 2020 has enabled DCEDIY to offer more supports to existing services, to help them reach more young people, and has enabled the introduction of brand new services across the country.
My Department supports youth service providers though a number of key funding streams:
- the Youth Services Grant Scheme supports universal service providers, to give all young people access to out of school youth activities;
- the UBU scheme, which is delivered in co-operation with the Education and Training Boards, supports targeted interventions for disadvantaged and marginalised young people; and
- Youth Information Centres provides targeted information for young people on a range of issues, such as mental health, education and access to local youth services and other supports.
I am committed to supporting this important sector, which has enormous value to the many young people involved and to society as a whole.
