Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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398. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason a café (details supplied) in County Longford has not been included in the most recent round of funding. [26170/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The case raised by the Deputy refers to a youth café project that applied for inclusion in the 2013 Youth Café Capital Scheme. In 2013, €1.5m in capital funding was made available to my Department for a Youth Café scheme. Pobal assisted my Department with the application and evaluation process for the programme. In all 95 applications with proposals were received and some 30 proposals for new youth café facilities around the country were approved for funding. These projects are now working with Pobal to develop their projects to the next stage of development.

An application for funding was received by Pobal in respect of the Attic Youth Café. The application was one of several identified as not eligible for the scheme by Pobal, on the grounds that it was not a new Youth Café, which was one of the application requirements. Officials from my Department met with the project’s sponsors and undertook to engage with the relevant stake-holders and to carry out an examination of all aspects of the Attic's application for funding. The examination is now completed and the outcome will be conveyed to the project’s sponsors in the coming weeks.

Youth cafés offer young people a safe, alcohol and drug free space, for recreation, non-formal learning and youth activities. Over the period 2011 to 2013 capital funding made available to my Department has supported the development of some 100 youth café facilities throughout the country. While my Department does not have available to it, a new capital fund for the development of youth cafés in 2015, the development of youth café facilities will continue to be a priority should further capital funding become available to my Department in future years.