Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald. As she is aware, Foróige, the national youth development organisation, was founded in 1952. It deals with approximately 53,000 young people each year in the context of fostering their development and that of society. Some ten years ago it established the internationally proven Big Brother Big Sister programme in Ireland. Foróige's stated vision for the programme is to build successful mentoring relationships for all young people who need and want them, thereby contributing to better schools, brighter future and stronger communities for all. The programme is based on the premise of matching young people with caring adults or friends who assist them in developing positive assets. Having a caring adult friend can help to build positive assets for young people to enable them to develop a commitment to learning, a positive sense of self and the future, positive values of caring, social justice, honesty and responsibility, and social competencies of making friends, planning, making decisions and resisting negative behaviour.

The Big Brother Big Sister programme has been in operation here for more than ten years - in a community and a school setting - and has dealt with more than 3,500 youngsters. The plan is to develop it further so that it might deal with 2,000 each year. The programme has been objectively evaluated and the outcomes relating to it have been shown to have brought about considerable improvements in young people. For the past five years the programme has been in receipt of funding from philanthropic organisations such as Atlantic Philanthropy. At present, this funding stands at somewhere in the region of €1.2 million. This funding was provided to demonstrate that the programme is viable and valuable. Its viability has been proven. However, the philanthropic organisations involved will not provide funding indefinitely. It is likely that Atlantic Philanthropy and the other organisation involved will withdraw from the programme unless the State becomes involved in some way. I understand that if the State were to provide €600,000 in matching funds, the other €600,000 would be made available by the two organisations in question on a long-term basis.

The Minister is well aware that it costs at least €100,000 to keep one young person in a State institution. For the amount it would cost - €600,000 - to confine six such individuals in such institutions, it would be possible for Foróige to deal with approximately 2,000 young people through its Big Brother Big Sister programme each year. This programme is viable and it provides young people with a direction in life through the establishment of role models. Given that there is a great need for role models and mentoring in the constituency I represent, I am of the view that the programme is invaluable. It would be a shame if the programme were to be lost simply because the philanthropic organisations which have been involved to date withdraw their funding because the State is not prepared to provide matching funds. I urge the Minister to give careful consideration to this matter with a view to ensuring that the programme will remain in operation.

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