Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I will have to come back to the Deputy on that. I am not sure where the 9% increase brings us relative to a few years ago but I agree with the Deputy. I was at Pride in Navan at the weekend and was delighted to launch Proud Spaces, which is a new venture and part of the work Youth Work Ireland Meath is doing. It is about supporting the LGBTQ+ community. I am very aware of the work the individuals involved do. They need that physical space and the infrastructure is key. My ambition is to increase funding and resources and to understand what they are doing, who is working in the organisations, what the structures are and how to make them as strong as possible. They need to be targeted to specific issues and concerns but with the new UBU funding that is currently open for applications we also have a strong geographical spread. In some rural areas, for obvious reasons - perhaps there is not a large population or a perceived issue in a particular area - there is not the same level of support for youth services and youth work as in urban areas. I want to ensure a proper spread, that it is targeted and that the organisations are supported.