Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department works with local authorities in the delivery of services; and if so, the details of same. [42557/12]

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department engage with local authorities in the provision of services and if so the details of same. [42578/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 214 and 215 together.

My Department engages and works with Local Authorities as follows:

The Children's Services Committees bring together a diverse group of agencies in local county areas to engage in joint planning and co-ordination of services for children.These include representatives from the Local Authorities, HSE, An Garda Síochána, VECs, National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, Irish Primary Principals Network, NEWB, and other organisations who provide services to children and young people. There are a total of 16 such committees.

The membership of all Children Services Committees (CSCs) includes senior managers from the major statutory providers of services to children and families. The Chairperson of each CSC is either the HSE Local Health Area Manager or the Area Manager for Children and Family Services and it is their function to ensure that the Children's Services Committees secures better developmental outcomes for children through more effective integration of existing services and interventions at local level. The Deputy Chairperson is a senior Local Authority officer.

In June this year, my Department established a CSC Steering Group whose main function is to support the effective operation and practical implementation of the work of the CSCs at local level. The Group, chaired by an independent Chairperson includes among its membership five representatives of Local Authorities.

Comhairle na nÓg (youth councils) were established in 2002 by the 34 City and County Development Boards (CDBs) in each local authority area, as part of the National Children's Strategy. Comhairle na nÓg provides a forum for children and young people to discuss local and national issues of relevance to them. Delegates from Comhairle na nÓg are elected to represent their local area at the annual Dáil na nÓg Comhairle na nÓg and Dáil na nÓg are recognised as the official structures for participation by children and young people in the development of policies and services.

In response to the recommendations of the Comhairle na nÓg Implementation Group Report (2007), the former OMCYA established the Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund aimed at improving the operation of Comhairle na nÓg and providing meaningful opportunities for children and young people to be involved in local decision-making.The Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund is designed to assist local authorities to support and develop Comhairle na nÓg. The Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund is managed by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) and administered in collaboration with Pobal.

The objectives of the Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund are to support the development and improvement of Comhairle na nÓg as:

- a firmly embedded structure and key consultative/participative forum for children and young people in each CDB area;

- an effective mechanism for children and young people to improve their own lives in partnership with adult stakeholders.

Application and reporting requirements of the Fund requires each CDB to submit documentation on plans, progress, achievements and challenges.Report on budget expenditure is also sought.

My Department provides for the delivery of a range of youth work schemes, programmes and supports to the youth sector. Funding is made available to national youth organisations under the Youth Service Grant Scheme and to projects/organisations under the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young Peoples Facilities and Services Fund (Rounds 1 and 2) Local Youth Clubs Grant Scheme, Youth Information Centres and for a number of Play and Recreation programmes.

In general funding for these schemes is channelled through the Vocational Educational Authorities (VECs) but in some instances funding is paid through the Local County Councils/Local Authorities on behalf of this Department.

My Department also provides a series of small grants to local authorities each year to assist with the cost of staging National Play Day and National Recreation Week events in July and October of each year respectively. In 2011 my Department provided approximately €60,000 to local authorities towards the cost of these events. Local authorities in many cases provided matched or additional funding for the remainder of the costs incurred.