Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the increase made last year, which everyone in the youth sector also welcomed. The Minister is relatively new in his role. The people in the sector maintain that funding has been significantly reduced since 2008 and they have not seen any increase since then. Much of the money provided is simply to play catch-up and the sector has not yet caught up. I had meetings recently with some of the youth organisations, including the National Youth Council of Ireland and Foróige. The representatives I met made the point that they need acknowledgement of the cuts made over many years and the need for additional funding to play catch-up.

I was surprised to find out that these organisations are struggling to attract volunteers. Given the situation with the pandemic and everything that has happened, it is really important that they are given every help and opportunity. I fully agree that this is an important sector and those involved play a vital role in many aspects of the lives of young people. The work they do often goes unnoticed or under the radar. It is only when a service is gone that people say what an excellent service it was. It is important that we can sustain all these services for young people.

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