Ms Grace Hill:

When we knew street work was a missing piece in Tallaght, we looked at how would fund this. As Deputy Ward can imagine, there was not a lot forthcoming. We initially got funding through the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, and through the local community development committee, LCDC, in south Dublin. We are on a shoestring now for two years trying to evaluate it and make sure that we can clearly show the impacts and the positive outcomes, of which, not even a year into it, there are so many so far. We are starting the evaluation soon and then we will be looking at other funders. We have an advisory committee. There is already some thinking around SICAP.

We also have applied for the prevention fund under the Department with responsibility for the drug strategy as well. For me, that really plays a part. It is €100,000 over three years. It is a cross-party piece. It is about prevention. It is about supporting young people, many of whom are engaged in drug-related crime and drug use as well. I am waiting to hear from that, having applied last November.

Through the SICAP, it was great to have a partnership that strategically viewed young people are part of its target group. They are providing safe passes and the education piece.

I want to highlight the benefit of the street work piece. A number of groups, including the joint policing committee in south Dublin, have come out and said that this is amazing and that these are the young people they could never have approached or reached. There is huge support for this work, we just need the money. Hopefully, the evaluation will show the huge impact that we are having, not only with the young people Mr. Perth and the team are working with but also through the other organisations. We have other youth organisations now saying, for example, "There's Jimmy, I have not seen him in a while.", because there is another piece of work being done with him through the street work and maybe he has the confidence to approach a youth service which he would not have had in the past.

Hopefully, the evaluation will show these amazing outcomes and the value of them in Tallaght and beyond. As many alluded to, there has been much in the media about similar disadvantaged communities that could benefit from this. It has been proven in Ballymun, through the Ballymun Youth Action Project, BYAP. It has been proven in the Targeted Response with Youth, TRY, project in Dublin 8 as well. We find it is working for us and is complementing the other services.