Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for taking this motion. The debate is timely given the publication earlier this week of EUROSTAT data on poverty and social exclusion and the recent circular about funding from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to youth organisations. Irish children and working age adults are more at risk of poverty or social exclusion than any other children in western Europe according to EUROSTAT data released earlier this week. The figures suggest Irish children are more likely to face social exclusion and financial poverty than their counterparts in 22 of the other 26 member states. Some 38% of Irish under-18s are most at risk of one of three forms of poverty are social exclusion: living in households with disposable income of less than 60% of the national median, being unable to pay bills on time, or living in households where adults have paid work for less than 20% of their available time.

We all agree youth services are a vital part of community development across the State but cuts of 10% to the baseline funding for 2012 in respect of the schemes, the youth services grant scheme, the special projects for youth, young people's facilities and services funds rounds 1 and 2, youth information centres and local drugs task force projects will jeopardise front-line support for young people, especially those hit hardest by the recession and by disadvantage. At a time when 38% of Irish under-18s are most at risk of one of three forms of poverty and social exclusion, and with one in five people not in education, employment or training, the State should be investing more in the services to ensure the young people are supported.

On the day when EU Ministers are discussing and agreeing upon the youth guarantee and trying to ensure no young person sinks into unemployment or long-term unemployment, Ireland is cutting the funding for youth services to deal with these very groups of people. As holders of the EU Presidency, should we not be leading by example and empowering and equipping organisations and services at the forefront of dealing with these young people and making sure they have the resources they need? Should we not be showing we are serious about young people? This is important given the EUROSTAT figures published recently. At the IBEC conference, Mr. Barroso said:

Here in Ireland, and all around Europe, too many young people are asking if they will ever find a job or have the same quality of life as their parents. We need to give these young people a better prospect. That is why, in the recent budget negotiations, the Commission fought to secure a large increase in funding for youth.

How will the Irish Government ensure that, coming out of the proposals from the EU Ministers meeting, we will match the resources and make sure the increase in funding is targeted at youth and important groups that have already been dealt a 10% cut from last year? Eurofound revealed that the economic loss to society of not integrating young jobseekers throughout the EU is estimated at ¤153 billion. The economic cost to countries like Ireland is estimated to be in the region of 2% of GDP so the cost of youth unemployment could be at ¤3.16 billion. Youth organisations have a critical role to play in that reintegration and cutting their funding is short-sighted when we consider growth, stability and jobs, which are the focus of the Presidency.

The recent Indecon economic assessment for the National Youth Council of Ireland proved youth work is value for money, with every ¤1 invested by the State in youth work saving ¤2.20 in the long run. That makes the cuts to these youth services even more difficult to understand, especially when those services are themselves stretched to the limit and cannot sustain any further cuts.