Ms Olive McGovern:

Overall Department funding for the National Youth Council of Ireland, NYCI, in 2017 was €594,000. In addition, we fund three specific programmes on health, child protection and the arts. The arts and health programmes are delivered in partnership with the Arts Council and the HSE, respectively. Through that spine funding, the health programme then accesses additional funding from a range of agencies. The total budget for the health programme is, therefore, far more substantial than the contributions of the Department and the HSE. Additional funding in respect of sexual health is provided by the crisis pregnancy programme and by the National Office for Suicide Prevention in respect of mental health. Smoking prevention work is funded by the Irish Cancer Society. There is a hybrid funding mix for the health programme anchored within the NYCI, which receives substantial funding from the Department. Our contribution is only part of the total available to the organisation.