Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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6. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide a cumulative figure for cuts to City of Dublin Youth Services Board since 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32604/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Department provides a range of funding schemes, programmes and supports to the youth sector. Funding of approximately €53.498 million is available in 2013 to support the provision of youth services.

In 2013 an allocation of €11.997 million was provided to City of Dublin Youth Services Board to support the provision of youth services to young people in the city of Dublin area. In 2008 the allocation for such services was €14.892 million, resulting in a cumulative reduction of €2.895 million, or 19%, over the five-year period in question. This funding is provided under the special projects for youth, the young people's facilities and services fund, and local drugs task forces.

They are the three schemes that get supported by the CDYSB.

This reduction, in line with the general trend in public expenditure, reflects the crisis in the public finances which emerged in 2008 and which, despite major progress, continues to limit the funding available to publicly funded programmes. As with all Departments and agencies, funding for the programmes of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has been reduced in recent years due to the general budgetary situation.

My Department has tried to ensure that in the determination process for the allocations to youth services throughout the country, the front-line youth projects, particularly those for the most vulnerable young people, are protected as far as is possible from the impact of the necessary reductions in funding. Organisations are being asked to consider the scope for reducing administration costs and overheads, if that is at all possible, in order to maintain the front-line youth services for young people. That is in line with the approach adopted within the public service where operational efficiencies and pay cost reductions, most recently through the Haddington Road agreement, have been used to minimise the impact of the fiscal crisis on service availability.

A comprehensive value for money and policy review of youth funding has been commenced in the Department and it is anticipated that the findings of this report will inform the future development of youth programmes and services.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

I know that the restrictions in funding are challenging for youth organisations. I have met, and continue to meet, many youth organisations and groups to try to see how we can work together to minimise the impact of the necessary savings to ensure the provision of quality youth services to young people is sustained in these challenging times.

During the course of Ireland's EU Presidency, which came to a close in recent days, I used my position as President of the Council of EU Youth Ministers to secure agreement on a policy agenda which aimed at raising the profile of youth work and seeking greater access for the youth work sector to EU funding opportunities, in particular funding to be provided under the youth employment initiative and as part of the implementation of the youth guarantee.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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When we listened on the Anglo tapes to bankers laughing as their grubby and greedy activities propelled an entire country towards bankruptcy, it is worth reminding ourselves of the other side of that coin, the human impact. Nowhere provides a more stark indication of the appalling and unacceptable impact of that than cuts to youth services, which as the Minister acknowledged, have suffered an enormous cut of 19% since the recession hit. What will the Minister do to reverse this unacceptable situation? There is no justification for young people, of all people, in particular vulnerable young people in disadvantaged areas, to pay the price for what those laughing, contemptuous bankers did.

During the EU Presidency the Government spoke about the youth guarantee and a report is being launched on how it will be applied in this country. Will the youth guarantee mean a reversal of the cuts? Could the Minister provide assurances that there will be no further cuts in the coming budget? The head of Dublin city youth services said that entire projects will disappear if there are any more cuts in the forthcoming budget. What assurances can the Minister provide that there will be no more of these utterly unacceptable cuts and that the youth guarantee will ensure a reversal of the extremely damaging cuts?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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It is important that the Deputy has raised the youth guarantee and the potential it could have in this country. As he is aware, initially the sum of €6 billion was agreed. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, succeeded in steering that through at EU level. It is a superb initiative and is very important in dealing with the crisis in youth unemployment. The Deputy asked whether the youth guarantee has any relevance for youth work groups in this country. In fact, I believe it does. The fund has increased to €8 billion, to be front-loaded over the next two years. I have been in discussions with the youth work sector and I worked during the Presidency to ensure youth work is seen as part of the continuum that helps young people to access education, training and work.

The youth guarantee should be used to support youth work groups and the projects and programmes they run. I have already had some discussions with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, on the matter. In the coming weeks and months she plans to put a group together to examine how the youth guarantee can have an impact in this country. As Deputy Boyd Barrett correctly pointed out, the youth work services should be part and parcel of an approach to support young people who face the levels of youth unemployment experienced in this country and in Europe.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I welcome the response and the aspiration expressed. There can be no doubt that if we do not provide the resources and supports for teenagers and young people then all the talk about youth employment guarantees will mean little because huge numbers of people will just drop out of the system and get into trouble and difficulty. If the youth guarantee is to mean anything then it must apply in this area and be part of a continuum that goes from the teenage years right through to getting people into employment.

What can we hope for and expect in terms of what that might mean for forthcoming budget cuts or cuts that have been imposed? Those involved in providing youth services say they cannot take any more. Serious damage has been done. Youth worker jobs have been lost and services and projects have been cut. The cuts must be reversed because every cut does damage and means more young people dropping out of the system and getting into trouble. What assurance can the Minister provide that there will be no further attacks and that there will be a reversal of some of the cuts that have been imposed?

Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Following my meeting with the Minister last week, could she confirm that she has met SIPTU about the cuts to the City of Dublin Youth Services Board and could she advise of any progress made during the course of the meeting?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Boyd Barrett is aware of the budgetary situation. I will do everything I can to protect the services. It is very important not to create unnecessary fear in the sector. I am in contact with the youth sector all the time and I visit projects frequently and see the work that is being done. It is important to say how much good work is being done despite the very difficult budgetary situation. The majority of the funding has been protected. There had been a huge increase in funding but that is not to say that once the budgetary situation eases, I would not want to invest further in the youth sector. I believe fully in the youth sector and the initiatives and support it offers to young people. I will do my very best to protect the budget.

The youth guarantee offers a way to support the sector as well that should be utilised fully in the coming months. We must also ask the youth sector to respond itself to the potential the youth guarantee offers. I have asked a number of youth services to put together projects that could potentially attract funding under the youth guarantee. I would welcome Deputy Boyd Barrett’s support in that regard because opportunities exist. It is important that the youth work sector avails of, and is helped to avail of, the funding. The work will be done between the Department of Social Protection, my Department and other Departments.

I had a meeting with SIPTU which was very helpful. SIPTU suggested a number of initiatives to me. It highlighted in particular its concern at the need to give better information to the youth sector on the funding proposals for it. We have put a process in place for ongoing discussion with SIPTU on the issues raised.