Dr. Patrick J. Burke:

The vast majority of youth work in Ireland is still carried out by volunteers. That is not well known. I think it is in the region of 80:20 where 80% is not paid. We have to get over ourselves and understand that volunteering is not free. Sometimes it seems that way but it costs organisations on this side of the table to recruit volunteers but more importantly to support them and make sure they have the skills they require to deliver on child protection, Garda vetting, quality standards, running committees, youth participation and all that sort of thing. That requires investment and we do not get that level of investment. All the money in recent years has gone into targeted work and nothing really substantial into this hugely important work. Do not talk to me about value for money here. Not every county has a club development worker. What is that about? They could support 20 or 30 clubs in a county.