Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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53. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on the cuts in funding that many organisations in the youth services sector have experienced since 2011; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6754/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am pleased to confirm that I have allocated an extra €5.5m in current funding to support the provision of youth services in 2017. This will bring the total youth funding by my Department to €57.4m, an increase of 10% over last year's allocation. The additional funding will be used for programmes that target disadvantaged young people and to assist national youth organisations in their work to support local voluntary youth services.

My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people. They involve approximately 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country.

I acknowledge, and very much regret, the cuts that were made to youth funding in earlier years.

My Department, along with all government departments, was required to deliver substantial savings on all funding programmes in line with the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure 2012 – 2014. My Department sought to ensure that front line youth services, particularly those for the most vulnerable young people, were protected as far as is possible from the impact of any necessary reductions in funding.

I am pleased that we have turned the tide of these cuts now, with a 10% increase this year over 2016. My Department has carried out a Value for Money and Policy Review of a number of schemes supporting youth services. The review involved an in-depth scrutiny of the impact youth service provision has on young people’s lives and made a number of recommendations for the future operation of the youth schemes and their development in the years ahead.

I want to streamline the various funding schemes for youth services so that we maximise their benefit and target money to best effect. I have prioritised the work on developing a new integrated funding scheme as recommended by the Value for Money and Policy Review. Consultations with youth services are continuing with a view to introducing the new youth funding programme in line with the Value for Money and Policy Review of Youth Programmes in a planned way.

Finally, I am committed to continuing to seek additional support for youth services in Budget 2018 and beyond.