Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the preparations being made by her and her Department for the EU presidency with a particular focus on youth affairs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40736/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The substantive area of my Department’s involvement in the EU Presidency relates to youth policy and the EU Youth Council which forms part of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport (EYCS) Council of Ministers configuration. Preparations for Ireland’s Presidency programme are well in hand.

We are working closely with our trio Presidency partners - Lithuania and Greece- and the EU Commission to coordinate our respective national policy priorities for youth under the broad headline theme of ‘Social Inclusion’. This theme will inform the work of the Youth Council over the 18 months period commencing with the Irish Presidency in 2013.

My aim is to ensure that Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers with responsibility for Youth Affairs is relevant and responsive to current issues affecting young people in the EU and that our Presidency makes a substantial contribution to the development of both national and EU youth policy for the coming years.

Ireland’s priority for our Presidency term will focus on the contribution of quality youth work to young people’s development and wellbeing.

I consider that youth work has a particular relevance and potential when it comes to seeking to support those young people, who may not be in formalised education, in employment or training, the so-called NEET cohort. This group of young people is a significant concern across all Member States.

Our national priority will be build on Ireland’s work in the area of quality standards, via the National Quality Standards Framework for youth work and the Standards for Local Volunteer-led Youth Groups, developed by my Department. This work programme is well regarded by European institutions and member states. The Irish Presidency provides an important opportunity for Ireland to share its knowledge and learning in this area.

The flagship event of Ireland’s Youth Presidency will be the EU Youth Conference which I will host in Dublin in March 2013. It is anticipated that over 220 participants, young people together with senior officials from all Members States and the EU institutions will participate in the event. I will bring the findings and recommendations of the youth conference to the Council of Youth Ministers in May 2013.

Our Presidency will also provide an opportunity to respond to the recently published joint Council/ Commission report the EU Youth Strategy (2010 to 2018) which calls for a greater youth policy focus on achieving the objective of the Europe 2020 growth agenda, including in relation to youth employment. This report will be considered at the upcoming Council of Youth Minister’s meeting in November 2012, which I will attend. As part of Ireland's Presidency I plan to host a high-level roundtable event in Dublin which will explore youth work’s contribution to achieving the goals of Europe 2020, including issues relating to youth employment.