Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 166: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will make funding available to youth cafés to support them in their works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28239/07]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Youth cafés offer great potential for providing a wide range of developmental, educational and information programmes to young people. The launch of the National Recreation Policy in September this year highlighted Government's commitment to the development of youth cafés. While a number of youth cafés have emerged around the country on an ad hoc basis, funded by a variety of providers, an integrated approach is now proposed in the provision of youth cafés. A number of steps are already in train to support this process.

A small survey of some of the existing youth cafés (around 20) has been completed by my Office to establish vision, objectives, structures, governance, funding, staffing, accessibility and overall usage. I have formally requested the National Children's Advisory Council's support in the production of a toolkit and guide to setting up a youth café. In the meantime, consideration is being given to how best to develop a coherent structured programme for the development of youth cafés as well as the most appropriate lead agency for the management and administration of a funding scheme.