Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 210: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the amount of funding allocated to each local authority from the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs dormant accounts youth cafe funding scheme on a county basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26500/10]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 214: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason an application for funding under the dormant accounts youth cafe funding scheme was refused in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26542/10]

Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 210 and 214 together.

On 12 April last, I announced details of the Youth Café Funding Scheme. This is the first dedicated youth café funding scheme in Ireland. A total funding package of up to €1.5 million is available for small scale fit-out, refurbishment works or building enhancement projects to existing Youth Cafes and for the start up of new youth cafes.

The youth café funding scheme is being administered by POBAL on behalf of my office. Applications for the scheme are now closed and a short-list of applicants has been prepared for further detailed consideration by POBAL. The short-listing of applications was carried out by local city and county development boards, in accordance with the terms of the scheme. The boards made their decisions based on the official criteria and appraisal of application guidelines. A copy of these guidelines was supplied to all applicants. In arriving at their final decisions in relation to the short-listing of applications, the boards also based their decisions on local knowledge and expertise.

The scheme is a competitive one with each CDB asked to nominate the best projects in their respective area. Applicants who were not successful at the preselection stage should approach their local city or county development board if they wish to receive specific feedback on the reasons why they were not short-listed. At the appraisal stage, final decisions on allocations of funding will be made based on those applications who most successfully meet the terms and criteria for the scheme.

The €1.5million will be paid out under two Strands. Strand 1 is concerned with improving existing youth cafés through small scale refurbishments. The maximum amount that can be awarded by each City/County Development Board (CDB) to applicants is €10,000. Each CDB can only recommend a maximum of three projects for grant aid under this strand. Strand 2 is aimed at new youth cafes. The maximum amount that can be awarded by each CDB to applicants is €100,000. Each CDB can only recommend one project for such grant aid. Announcements in relation to the next stage of the scheme will be made later in the year once the short-listed applications have been examined.