Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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705. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the significant funding cuts that have been experienced by those Comhairle na nÓg committees that are based in areas in which local authorities, for example town and county councils, have been amalgamated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5979/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund provides funding to local authorities to run an effective Comhairle na nÓg, which is capped at €20,000 each annually. In addition to this fund, local authorities can also provide funding and resources for Comhairle na nÓg at a local level, as can relevant statutory and voluntary organisations. The Comhairle na nÓg Development Fund is designed to assist local authorities to support the development of Comhairle na nÓg as a firmly embedded structure and key consultative/participative forum for children and young people in each local authority area; and an effective mechanism for children and young people to improve their own lives in partnership with adult stakeholders.

Local Government structures were reformed in 2014 following the Local Government Reform Act 2014. The number of local authorities changed from 34 to 31 in mid-2014.

In 2015, all 31 Comhairlí were approved with an annual budget of €20,000 each. In recognition of the impact on the work of Comharile in the amalgamated Local Authority areas, my Department has also provided additional funding. In 2015, €2000 was provided to each merged Local Authority to enable them to cover the costs of hosting a larger AGM than usual and recruiting a larger number of children and young people to their expanded Comhairlí. Funding was also provided for this purpose in 2016. A further €5,000 was awarded to each of the three merged Local Authorities in 2016 to enable them to meet the challenges arising from the amalgamation in young people attending meetings and taking part in the ongoing activities of the Comhairle.

While there are additional pressures on the three merged Local Authorities in supporting and facilitating an expanded Comhairle na nÓg, it should be noted that other Local Authorities support larger Comhairle on the annual budget of €20,000. Below is a table from the 2015 Annual Report on the Comharile na nÓg Development Fund, which presents membership figures for all 31 Comhairlí.

Table 2: Comhairle na nÓg membership 2015