Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Will the Minister confirm when youth groups will know what their budget allocations are for next year? It is unfair on them in planning their 2014 programmes that they do not know what moneys they will have available. The group in question wrote to City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee about its funding in 2014 and was told it could not be informed. If there is the same cut as last year, it will have to move from a five-day to a four-day week. It is making savings by not giving toast to the kids attending the group, stopping its training fund and not carrying out repairs to its facilities. It is welcome that the Minister is taking on board what I have said about this youth group. However, it is not an isolated case; it is being replicated the length and breadth of the country. The Minister agreed with Deputy Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan on the need to invest in youth. We must ensure we invest in these critical programmes in communities.

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