Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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617. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding an application for funding for an organisation (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21756/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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In recent years capital funding has been made available to my Department for the development of youth café facilities. In 2013 a capital allocation of €1.5m was made available by my Department for the provision of new youth cafes. Pobal assisted my Department with the administration of the scheme. Some 95 applications were received and 30 proposals for new youth cafes around the country were approved for funding.

I am advised that an application was received in respect of a youth café in Monasterevin from Kildare Youth Services. However, the application was unsuccessful on this occasion as it did not achieve a sufficiently high score for inclusion in the final list of projects approved for funding. An application from County Kildare Youth Hub in Kildare Town was successful and has received a capital grant of €50,000 towards the cost of developing a new youth café facility. The group is working with Pobal to complete the youth café project.

My Department does not have available to it a capital fund for the development of new youth cafés in 2015.

Youth Cafés offer young people a safe, alcohol and drug free space, for recreation, non-formal learning and youth activities and they make an important contribution to facilities for young people at local level. The development of youth café facilities is a priority for my Department should further capital funding become available in future years.

Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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618. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will permit a resource centre (details supplied) in County Kerry to recruit a co-ordinator for its area. [21775/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The Family Resource Centre referred to by the Deputy has been in receipt of funding under the Family Resource Centre Programme which is administered by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The Centre’s budget for 2015 is set at €90,453.

I am advised by Tusla that representatives met with members of the Voluntary Board of Management last December regarding the provision of funding to the Centre under the Family Resource Centre Programme. The Centre has been without a full-time Co-Ordinator since March 2013. This has impacted on the management and operation of the Centre in terms of services to children and families in the community and the continued development of the Centre in line with Tusla’s priorities.

Tusla fully recognises the need for community-based family support services serving the communities of Sneem, Tahilla, Castlecove, Kilgarvan and Kenmare. Tusla will continue to work with the Centre and representatives from these communities to ensure that the funding currently available under the Family Resource Centre Programme is directed to a community-based service that is operating to its full potential and best supports and promotes the development, welfare and protection of children, and the effective functioning of families, in line with Tusla’s priorities.

In this regard, a decision has been made to establish a new Family Resource Centre based in Kenmare to serve the communities of Sneem, Tahilla, Castlecove, Kilgarvan and Kenmare. A new legal entity will be formed. The current Voluntary Board of Management of Kenmare Community Care will be re-constituted. It will initially include community representatives from the Family Resource Centre referred to and Kenmare Community Care.

In time, it is proposed that the new Voluntary Board of Management will also include community representatives from Tahilla, Castlecove and Kilgarvan. The detail of this will be a matter for discussion and agreement under an agreed process which is being managed and facilitated by Tusla. The first meeting in this agreed process was to take place last month but was cancelled due to the unavailability of some representatives. Tusla has requested that the first meeting be rescheduled to a suitable date within the next two weeks.

Tusla has advised that the existing Family Resource Centre will continue to administer its Programme funding until the process is completed and will continue to receive Tusla funding for counselling services during the process.