James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Yes, but at least they will have one person qualified to level 6. Ms McNally will go into more detail because she has more up to date information. Senator van Turnhout also mentioned guardians ad litem and we have addressed this.

I am very much in agreement with Deputy Byrne on the youth strategy, ensuring we hear the voice of youth and cherishing all of our children equally in the year we are coming to. She also mentioned St. Patrick's and Oberstown, which I have addressed, and the impact issue which I have also addressed. With regard to money for youth services and various schemes, the Deputy asked how decisions are made and Ms McNally will go into detail on this. They come through the county or city child care committees, depending on location, the voluntary child care organisations and the education and training boards. They make decisions and recommendations to us. A number of measures are in place to ensure money is used to optimal effect, and the Department is happy to receive feedback, so if the Deputy has specific concerns we can certainly speak to her. The value for money report was very much on this issue, and the new youth strategy will allow us to implement its recommendations.

Value for money reports always cause concern because when people hear "value for money" they think there will be a cut. Sometimes it does result in a cut in one service, but more money goes to another. It is not a cut to take money from youth services, to which I pay particular tribute because they do a fantastic job. For every euro we spend we get several euro back. The value is beyond this, because we cannot put a value on the work they do. It is outstanding and we can only stand back and admire the volunteerism in the sector, with 40,000 people giving of their time freely, many of whom went through youth services themselves.

We have quality standards in place, which puts a bit of strain on services, and they must show compliance with them. This is another dynamic we face. On the one hand we want quality, monitoring and to be able to validate, but on the other hand we do not want people who are giving freely of their time and volunteering having to spend hours writing reports and dealing with red tape. We try to strike a balance and get it right. Youth officers are employed by the education and training boards throughout country to monitor quality and report back. The City of Dublin Education and Training Board youth officer is co-located with the Department. The youth officers can make recommendations to my officials on reducing funding to one service and giving more to another. This happened in Deputy Byrne's area, at St. Michael's in Inchicore. I understand Deputy Byrne's concerns. We know that in general we are getting great value for money and a great return for the Government's investment in supporting the youth sector, but there are always concerns about how to monitor and ensure we get the best for our children. If the Deputy has specific concerns we will be happy to listen quietly to her and take it back through the chain and see where the problem lies.