Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In 2013, my Department will provide some €53.173 million to support the provision of youth services and programmes to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. This funding will support youth work programmes and youth services serving some 400,000 young people, delivered by over 1,400 youth work personnel, who in turn support a large volunteer base of some 40,000.

The comprehensive review of expenditure published in December 2011 sets out clearly the savings required from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in each of the years 2012, 2013 and 2014. The CRE contains a detailed seven page chapter outlining savings required from youth work funding. The CRE requires a 10% saving in 2013, with a lesser saving in 2014. The review further provided that there were no reductions in 2012 or 2013 in funding for the local youth club grant scheme which provides funding to volunteer-led youth clubs and groups throughout the country.

The Department has tried to be as equitable as possible. We discussed already the budgets for child care and early intervention. A huge part of the departmental budget goes on protecting those services and ensuring they continue as they are and that they develop. Funding provided by the Department to support youth projects in the Dublin city area is administered by the City of Dublin Youth Services Board.

In February the board submitted a proposal which was different to that outlined in the CRE. It suggested some reductions of up to 14%. In the majority of the projects the reductions were in the range of 2% to 5% but it stated some larger projects with bigger budgets should take a reduction of 14%.

When I examined those proposals and when my Department considered them, we stated that any proposals for funding cuts in excess of 10% - those up to 14% - would not be acceptable and that they should be reduced. We certainly did not want any project being cut by more than 10%. Revised proposals were submitted to my Department. That means that the cutbacks that were originally intended by the CDYSB of up to 14% have been reduced to 10%.

As I stated earlier here at a previous Question Time, we also are looking at funding overall and looking at a value-for-money review of youth funding generally.

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