Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment. The Ballinrobe youth development project has made considerable progress in a short time and has been invaluable to the youth of Ballinrobe. This is a rapidly growing area with an increasingly diverse population, including a long-established and significant Traveller population and many newcomers. The schools strive to support second level students, many of whose families are marginalised. There is considerable concern among those families and in the community that their needs are not being adequately met.

The Ballinrobe youth development project was initiated at a local educational committee meeting in early 2005. The committee's remit is to identify issues in the community that impinge on children's learning in order to address those issues. Committee members represent a cross-section of the local community and include young people, parents, school and community representatives directly or indirectly involved in education. The committee identified the lack of activities and facilities accessible to young people in the area. Parents expressed considerable concern for and about their teenagers, particularly in respect of the lack of adequate facilities and activities. The wider youth population confirmed this in a survey it carried out in November 2005.

Once the objectives were identified, work to establish the much-needed Ballinrobe youth development project began. In January 2006, the project received welcome funding from the Department of Education and Science through the Mayo VEC, for which we thank the Minister. Young people in crisis in the Ballinrobe area had already come to the attention of the Health Service Executive. As there was no youth service in Ballinrobe, these young people had to access relevant support programmes in bigger towns. Ballinrobe youth development project aims to provide direct intervention for young people, aged between 12 and 18 years — second level students — who are at risk of experiencing personal, family, educational or social problems to enable them to grow and develop to their full potential and overcome adversity.

The project also aims to expand and develop a range of voluntary youth group activities for the broader youth population and particularly for young people not involved in youth activities. Ms Tara Gannon started work as the project's first youth worker in December 2006. She is a source of hope for the young people of the area. In her short time with the project, she has consulted widely with the youth, families, schools, wider community and related youth services, identifying key issues affecting young people to address through in-school and after school group activities and individual work. Disenfranchised and marginalised youth have found a voice at last and are already participating in educational programmes and activities which Ms Gannon has set up. She is actively empowering young people as evidenced in a recent open night which was organised and facilitated by young people from the area.

Funding for a contract of four months' full-time work with the project will cease this month. We are all extremely concerned about the implications of this for the young people of the area and for the future of Ms Gannon's work and the project. Her enthusiasm, energy and great dedication has meant that in her short time at the project she has set up considerable activities and programmes to run beyond the expiration of funding. Young people have big expectations arising from the work she has begun with them. The project urgently needs to secure further core funding. I urge the Minister of State to provide this so that young people can see these support programmes and Ms Gannon can build on the impact she has made on the young people of the area.

The management advisory committee has invested considerable time, effort and dedication in developing this much needed project, specifically for the purpose of empowering marginalised youth and young people of the Ballinrobe area. The committee members have invested their time and toil in this project. They have wonderful support from ForÓige, the employer of the youth worker, and ask that the Minister of State recognise the structures and strong links that have been established and support them to enable the project to continue its work on the behalf of youth of the area. Ongoing funding would allow the Ballinrobe youth development project to continue its work, which holds so much educationally, personally and socially for the young people of Ballinrobe. I hope the Minister of State can assist this valuable project and I thank the Ceann Comhairle most sincerely for allowing me to raise this issue.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to comment on youth work programmes and services in County Mayo and in the Ballinrobe area, in particular, and I thank Deputy Cowley for raising this issue. One of my areas of responsibility within the Department of Education and Science is the support and development of the youth work sector in Ireland. The overall purpose of the youth work service in Ireland is to assist young people to realise their potential and to become active participants in a democratic society. I am extremely conscious of the great benefits of youth work to young people themselves and to society. I am also aware that this recognition requires appropriate support. Through the youth affairs section of my Department, I work with the National Youth Council of Ireland, the national youth work advisory committee, which includes representatives of other Departments, and other interested parties to support youth work activities. This support is provided by way of financial and other assistance.

Youth work programmes and services are provided primarily by voluntary youth work organisations. In this regard, my Department provides a range of financial supports to the sector including support for projects for disadvantaged young people under the special projects for youth scheme; to national youth organisations under the youth service grant scheme; to a network of youth information centres, including a centre in Castlebar which is under the aegis of Youth Work Ireland — formerly the National Youth Federation; and to local clubs and groups throughout the country, including a number of clubs throughout Mayo under the local youth club grant scheme.

Under the special projects for youth scheme, grant-in-aid is made available to organisations and groups for specific projects which seek to address the needs of young people who are disadvantaged due to a combination of factors, for example, social isolation, substance misuse, homelessness, early school leaving and unemployment. Projects facilitate the personal and social development of participants thus enabling them to realise their full potential. This aim underpins all programmes and activities covered by the scheme. One special project in County Mayo receives funding under this scheme. This project in north Mayo, which received grant-in-aid of €53,743 in 2006 from my Department, offers a wide range of programmes and services aimed at young people most at risk of early school leaving and involvement in crime.

The local youth club grant scheme was introduced by my Department in 1999 and it aims to support youth work activities at a local level. These grants are made available to youth clubs and groups through the local vocational educational committee. While the scheme is open to all those involved in the provision of youth work services at local level, it is intended that disadvantaged and marginal groups will be the priority targets, with further priority being given to young people between the ages of ten and 24 years. While sports clubs are not eligible for funding under the terms of this scheme, funding for such clubs is available from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, under the sports for young people grant scheme. This scheme encompasses a number of grants that can be grouped under two headings: youth grants designed to aid the ongoing costs of youth clubs and groups and special youth grants, which are once off in nature and intended to aid special youth work initiatives, particularly those aimed at disadvantaged young people. In 2006, County Mayo VEC provided almost €21,000 to local youth clubs in the county on behalf of my Department under this scheme. In addition, €57,000 was allocated to 59 local youth clubs from the dormant accounts fund in recent weeks. These funds ensure local youth clubs and groups are appropriately resourced at local level.

The youth affairs section of my Department has received an application for funding on behalf of Ballinrobe area youth project. This application was submitted for consideration in the 2007 round of grants under the special projects for youth scheme. Funding allocations for 2007 are currently being examined by my Department and consideration will be given to this application in light of available financial resources, existing commitments in the youth sector and other applications. My Department's objective is to finalise decisions on such applications before the end of April.