Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I did not do the inviting; I was invited myself. Young people from the local schools were present. They know what they want and made their voices heard. They want a youth centre and I suspect they will keep hounding local representatives until they get it. I encouraged them to keep it up.

I attended a meeting of the regional drugs task force in Athlone yesterday. I was very impressed by the number of initiatives that slowly but surely the task force is rolling out in that region. While I would like to see progress achieved much more quickly, definite progress is being made and solid and well-grounded programmes for young people are being put in place.

Despite so much work going on, problems persist and we continue to struggle to keep up the scale of support which is needed, whether through an ability to respond for a short time at stages when young people might be vulnerable and need a helping hand, or through more long-term interventions which are needed in other circumstances. From my experience on the ground, I believe it is important that young people become involved as much as possible in their communities — to be fair, they do so. We need to educate children and other young people about themselves and the world around them, and empower them to contribute to the development of their community, environment and society. I firmly believe any resources invested in children and young people will be repaid many times over through the future well-being of our communities and society in general.

I was invited to present certificates to a group of transition year students in a school in my constituency last Friday. The school ran a programme based on an American programme concerned with empowering young people and giving them the capacity to make their own decisions and come to the right decisions. Much of the programme concerned the area of drugs. While I am sometimes sceptical about imported programmes, I was very impressed by the way the young people were able to articulate the value they found in these courses. Much work of that type is being done throughout the country.

When people talk about these difficult times for our young people, drugs are never far from their minds. As Minister of State with responsibility in that area, I am acutely aware of the problems and potential problems facing young people today. Through the prevention pillar of the national strategy, including the young people's facilities and services fund, resources are directed into facilities and services aimed at encouraging alternatives to a lifestyle that revolves around drugs and alcohol. One of the most effective strategies to prevent problem drug use is to ensure young people have alternatives in their lives, for example, sport and recreational opportunities. In such settings, combined with the work of those organising the activities, youth has a chance to get involved in alternative pursuits where they can express themselves and their ideas, and be supported generally in a way that can improve their lives.

I take the point that not every person, young or old, is interested in sport, which is why it is important we have facilities such as youth cafés. "Youth café" is a new buzzword but they are a useful intervention, provided we can adapt to changing needs. They provide another outlet and help to include those young people who are interested in, for example, art or playing music or computer games.

I am pleased to note the Department's young people's facilities and services fund is assisting in the development of youth facilities and services in disadvantaged areas where a significant drug problem exists or has the potential to develop. The objective of the fund is to attract "at risk" young people in disadvantaged areas into these facilities and activities and divert them away from the dangers of substance abuse. The target group for the fund is ten to 21 year olds who are marginalised through a combination of risk factors relating to family background, environmental circumstances, educational disadvantage, involvement in crime and drugs and so on.

Since 1998 the Government has allocated €132 million to the fund for current capital projects which, broken down roughly, is an allocation of €70 million for current spending and €62 million for capital projects. This year, €12.9 million is being provided to cover current expenditure under the fund, with €6 million for capital expenditure. Approximately 500 facilities and services projects are being supported under the fund and over 350 people are employed directly, with the funding provided under the young people's facilities and services fund.

At present the fund operates in the 14 local drugs task force areas — 12 in Dublin and the others in Bray and Cork — as well as Limerick, Waterford, Carlow and Galway. In line with the commitment in the programme for Government, the operation of the fund will be extended to other towns, mainly in Leinster. I will probably be in a position to identify those towns before Christmas and am currently assessing the best way towards meeting that commitment. I am meeting the regional drugs task forces, local authorities and sport and recreational organisations to roll out that programme.

Applications for funding under the YPFSF are being made through a relevant local development group. The group generally comprises representatives of the relevant drugs task force, local authority and vocational education committee. The ideas originate in communities and proposers are always encouraged to consult young people about what they would like to have in their areas. I am anxious to get projects that will grow from local communities and which are closely identified with the needs of young people. The proposals are assessed for suitability against priorities identified from the area, not from the Department. I intend to deal with that in more detail next week.

We cannot underestimate the risk of illegal drugs and to this end the Department has started a review of the next phase of the national drugs strategy. I know that Deputy Byrne and others will be actively engaged in that process. The next phase covers a long period from 2009 to 2016, which might appear like an eternity to young people. The year 2016 is a seminal, iconic date in the life of this country. I would like to think that by working together on a cross-party basis we can put in place strategies that will make a difference for young people. By 2016 therefore we will be in a position to treat all the children of the nation equally.

The field work for a second all-island prevalent study on drugs has been done and it will soon give us a good idea of the extent of various drug misuse issues. I will be working closely with Members on both sides of the House to identify the way forward to implement the study's findings.

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