Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which youth support services have been identified and catered for in terms of the appointment of youth officers on a county basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43366/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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My Department has a range of services in place for young people. Funding of some €56.806m is available from my Department in 2012 to support the provision of youth services and programmes throughout the country through a number of schemes. These include the Youth Service Grant Scheme, the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund and certain other provisions including the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme, Youth Information Centres, the European Youth in Action Programme (administered by Léargas – the Exchange Bureau) and Gaisce – the President’s Award.

These funding schemes support national and local youth work provision and involve approximately 1,400 paid staff and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country.

To support this significant infrastructure, my Department provides funding for 24.25 (WTE) Youth Officers posts in VECs throughout the country. Youth Officers have an important role in the delivery of the services funded by my Department. They have a specific function in supporting the implementation of the National Quality Standards Framework (NQSF) for staff-led youth work throughout the country. Their work includes: providing briefing/familiarisation sessions on the NQSF to youth work services and projects; supporting the establishment of NQSF implementation teams and the development of continuous improvement plans in projects; and undertaking external assessments of projects in implementing the NQSF and providing reports to my Department on projects.

Youth Officers will also have an instrumental role in the implementation of the forthcoming National Quality Standards for Local Volunteer-led Youth Groups.

Youth Officers assist my Department in administering grant-aid allocations to the local youth services/clubs in their respective areas under Local Youth Club Grant Scheme, Special Projects for Youth Scheme, Young People's Facilities and Services Fund, Youth Information Centres and the Local Drug Task Force funding scheme.

My Department is developing a new Youth Policy Framework for publication in 2013. The framework is intended to enhance coordination and delivery of youth services throughout the country. The framework will have a particular focus on further supporting and developing the youth work infrastructure to enhance the collective contribution of Youth Officers, youth organisations, youth services and volunteers to enhance youth services provision. The Youth Policy Framework will set out the priorities to be achieved for effective and responsive services for young people in the years ahead.