Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

This may appear to be a small issue but it is important. The Cabra West youth service has been operating for two decades in a school in an area with which the Minister of State is probably familiar as it is just across the border from Finglas. The Taoiseach gave out prizes in the school last Thursday morning. The next day the board of management told the Cabra West youth service that it could no longer expect to use part of the premises as an office.

The service has had the resource of the primary school as its headquarters from which it has operated a community employment scheme employing 19 people locally and most important, has provided a service for the young people in the area. Cabra presents many difficulties for the social services, and for young people growing up in the area, as the Minister of State knows. There is significant drug abuse in Cabra. The youth service has provided sporting and recreational clubs, and homework facilities, all of which help to keep young people on the straight and narrow.

In many parts of the north inner city and further afield, primary schools do not close their doors at 3 p.m. but provide greater resources to the community by allowing various CE schemes, youth services and senior citizens' groups to operate on their premises. It seems that this resource is being closed down. The only information the youth service has received is that it must leave the premises and seek alternative accommodation, perhaps across the road in a senior citizens' complex under development. That is not a suitable location for a youth service. Besides, there is no provision in the local authority's plans for a senior citizens' development to include facilities for a youth service.

The youth service is high and dry at the start of the summer and does not know how it will operate. It is extremely disappointing that a service that was provided on those premises for over two decades should now be turfed out at short notice and told not to return during the summer or in the autumn when the school re-opens. I want to highlight the situation whereby a service will be lost and local jobs are at risk. There will be a serious impact on the local community. I know the Minister of State is not directly responsible for the board but, in the context of the broader educational and resource requirements, is there any possibility the Department of Education and Science can make it known that it is anxious to ensure the service is retained, ideally on the premises from which it operates at present? Can it make it known to the board that it looks very kindly on the provision of services of this nature for young people?

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