Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy made that point strongly when we met. I take it on board. It is good to give some degree of local autonomy when identifying these issues. When my Department and I identify what Youghal, Fermoy or other parts of Cork mean, it is not as good as when local elements do so. We need to ensure there is a wide spread of funding and to recognise the importance of supporting youth in rural areas too. It is not just about supporting what is happening in cities and large towns, but also about supporting rural youth services. At least two of the UBU services announced this year, in Clare and Donegal, are specifically rural services, so there will be a more diffuse model rather than just one youth club somewhere. There are different models to support the different scenarios that young people are in, which I think is really important.

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