Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister referred to projects which took small cuts, a point acknowledged by some of those on the protest, but others have taken 10% cuts. Some were initially looking at a 14% cut to funding. All the organisations involved said that any cuts against a background where we have a disproportionate number of young people at risk will have an enormous impact. No cuts are acceptable in a situation where more young people in this country are at risk than in any other European country and where more young people are being hit as a result of the impact of the recession. These young people must be protected. Whatever else the Government may think it has to do to pay off the debts of bankers, these cuts are cruelly unjust and will have a disproportionate effect, as well as costing the State more in the long term. The Youth Council of Ireland report suggested that for every €1 invested in youth services, the State will save €2.20. In other words, the Minister’s cuts will double the cost for the State. They do not even make sense from a book-balancing point of view. Whatever else the Government may think it should do, these cuts are regressive and should be reversed.

See this speech in context