Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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103. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the way he can support national youth organisations and local youth services and clubs; if there is specific support for locations experiencing rapid population growth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48680/21]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I want to raise this issue with the Minister. I have noticed there are now villages in my constituency that were very small places 20 years ago but have grown hugely with the building of new housing estates in that time. These places now have many young people approaching teenage years but, unfortunately, the facilities and services have not kept in train with the development of those towns. We now have a situation where many young people have very little to do at weekends, especially at night-time. They are hanging around the streets with nothing to do. I would like to talk about that and how we can help that situation.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I entirely agree with the Deputy. The work being carried out by national youth organisations through volunteer-led clubs and groups is of major importance. It can be transformative for young people. That is why my Department has worked hard to continue to support these services through a range of funding and other measures. In 2021, we are providing €66.8 million, through a number of schemes, to support the work of youth services and national youth organisations. That includes an additional €5 million in extra spending I got in budget 2021 in particular recognition of the work being done by these services, how they struggled during Covid and how they stepped up to support young people during the pandemic.

Many of the schemes funded by my Department are delivered through the education and training boards, ETBs, throughout the country and with funding from my Department, the ETBs employ dedicated youth staff and conduct needs assessments of their areas to determine their subsequent funding schemes. The needs assessments must have regard to a number of factors, including population growth, which the Deputy highlighted as a key issue. In my Estimates discussion for 2022, my Department is again referencing the data on demographics that affect young people. My officials hold quarterly meetings with senior management in the ETBs throughout the country. These meetings help my officials to identify service needs and emerging issues and, in particular for vulnerable young people, to plan how we address them.

In 2021, the additional €5 million provided is assisting existing youth services to deliver services and to expand their reach to additional young people. We also used that money to set up six brand new services throughout the country. These services will respond to the increased needs of young people in these areas and the very specific needs of certain groups.

This is a sector I value and of which I am highly supportive. Again, in my engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, I will seek to continue to increase support for the sector in this budget.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister. It is important that he always bears in mind that population growth happens throughout the country. It is not something that is only happening on the east coast. Many pockets throughout the country have seen major growth in population. For example, Milltown, which used to be a village and is now a town, is quite close to where I come from. When I started knocking on doors there almost 20 years ago, there were two housing estates in the village. There are now more than ten estates and the population has grown massively. There is a great youth club locally, and other facilities, but a lot of the time there is not much for young people to do.

I acknowledge the great work being done by youth services in Kerry, throughout the county, and the support they get from the Department. The ETBs also do marvellous work, but there needs to be better joined-up thinking between established community organisations and our youth services. Rather than re-inventing the wheel, there should be greater collaboration to put on events and things that will attract young people. That is something we could work a little more on.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Of the six new services launched this year, only one was in Dublin. It is important to recognise that. We recognise population growth occurs all over the country. In rural areas, a youth service may often be the only outlet for young people, whereas there are other choices in highly urbanised areas. We put significant investment into some of the big operations in Kerry, such as Kerry Diocesan Youth Services, KDYS, which is the key linchpin in providing substantial youth services across a large number of areas. We also support the national organisations that are available, such as Scouting Ireland and the Irish Girl Guides, and those small youth services the Deputy referred to.

I take the Deputy's point on joined-up thinking. Youth information is one of the things we have invested more in this year. That sounds a little abstract but youth services see it as very important in trying to get information to them about funding and other ways they can integrate with other Government supports.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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It is very important, especially in the context of the space we are in, post pandemic - hopefully, we can say post pandemic - that a reset button has been pressed. Much of the social fabric of the country has been ripped asunder in the past year and a half. While we need to put that back together, with that comes an opportunity. The Minister referenced KDYS, which does marvellous and great work in Kerry but all our sporting organisations and community councils also do great work. Rather than youth services feeling the onus is on them and them alone to look after our young people, we should have a more collaborative approach where we interact with the established clubs and organisations rooted in every community and have a more youth-focused approach, with activities that are outside the core activities of those organisations. That will certainly be part of the solution.

I welcome the investment. Capital will also be needed to create centres in certain areas of population growth. For example, the KDYS youth centres in Kerry, and those throughout the country, are great places but we need more of them and they need to be resourced. That is not easy, but it something that is very worthwhile.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The point the Deputy made on activities outside those that are core is very interesting because the Tánaiste and I met a number of people working in national youth services recently to discuss what they can do to support Government actions on youth unemployment. There is a focus on that post pandemic. We are seeing unemployment rates come down, which is very important, but there is a group of young people who are very distant from further and higher education or employment. A youth service is often the first engagement they have with any sort of State supports. They will not go into an Intreo office or to a social welfare office but if you get them into a youth service you can then talk to them about soft skills and, possibly, putting a CV together, just in case. That initial engagement can be very important in getting them that first job and getting something on their CV that builds their confidence. We are looking at how we can support those services to work in areas outside their core activities and thus broaden the influence of youth services in the country.