Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 522: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her Department's funding commitments to youth work and the role of the National Youth Council of Ireland in 2006 in detail, and by individual member organisation where applicable; her intentions, both broad and specific for 2007 and beyond; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32776/06]

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The 2006 financial provision for my Department's Youth Affairs Section is €45.037m. In addition, my Department is also proposing to make a further €2m from the Dormant Accounts Fund available to local youth clubs and groups on a once off basis for small scale equipment grants.

The focus of financial allocations by my Department's Youth Affairs Section in 2006 is on the consolidation of current provision, a priority identified by the National Youth Council of Ireland and the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA) in submissions to my Department. This includes a 5% increase (over the 2005 baseline) in funding in 2006 for the three main funding schemes i.e. Youth Service Grant Scheme, Special Projects for Youth and Youth Information Centres. Some €7.155m has been provided to the youth work sector by my Department under the Young People's Facilities and Services Fund which seeks to address the needs of young people who are at risk of substance misuse. In addition, a further eight Special Projects for Youth (SPY) were expanded from one-worker to two-worker projects and two new SPY projects were sanctioned in 2006.

Funding of over €926,000 has been allocated to the VEC sector in 2006 to allow VECs to carry out their functions under the Youth Work Act, 2001. A Development Fund for Youth Work Organisations of €300,000 has been set up again this year to assist those organisations in meeting requirements arising from the Act.

Increased financial resources have been allocated this year to other youth work initiatives and programmes including Léargas — the Exchange Bureau, Gaisce — the President's Award and Child Protection programme for the youth work sector.

With regard to the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), this organisation is the prescribed National Representative Youth Work Organisation under Section 24 of the Youth Work Act, 2001. My Department supports the NYCI's core work via the Youth Service Grant Scheme, the allocation to date in 2006 being €691,897.

The NYCI also receives funding from my Department for some of the additional programmes it operates i.e. National Youth Arts Programme, National Youth Health Programme and Comhthraenáil.

I am arranging for details of the funding allocated to these programmes and other member organisations of the NYCI in 2006 to be supplied separately to the Deputy .

With regard to 2007 and beyond, my Department intends to continue its focus on the consolidation of existing provision and on the further roll out of the various elements of the Youth Work Act, 2001 and of the National Youth Work Development Plan as resources permit. This will include ongoing work on the establishment of a Youth Work Development Unit in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth and the further development of the Child Protection Training Programme for the youth work sector.

I would like to take this opportunity to restate my support of and commitment to the development of youth work in Ireland.