Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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61. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans to support the youth services sector and acknowledge the work being carried out by organisations within the community; her further plans to increase funding through the youth services grant scheme in line with predicted population increases of 13% in the age group between 18 to 25 year olds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6757/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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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 and involve approximately 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in youth work services and communities throughout the country. In 2016, funding of €51m was provided to my Department for these schemes.

These schemes include the Youth Service Grant Scheme under which funding is made available on an annual basis to thirty national and major regional youth organisations amounting to €10.15m. This funding is intended to ensure the emergence, promotion, growth and development of youth organisations with distinctive philosophies and programmes aimed at the social education of young people.

Budget 2017 provided an additional €5.5m in current funding to my Department to support the provision of youth services. This will bring the total youth funding in 2017 to €57.4m. This additional funding will be used, inter alia, to assist national youth organisations in their work to support local voluntary youth services. My Department has commenced the process with national organisations to identify service development needs for 2017 and to agree their 2017 allocations.

Budget 2017 also provided €2.6m to my Department for a capital funding scheme for youth projects and services. Work on the development of a new capital funding scheme for 2017 is underway and I hope to announce details of this new capital scheme in the coming months.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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62. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of discussions between her Department and the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board on the appointment of a dedicated youth officer for County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7025/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I am pleased to inform the Deputy that Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board has requested funding from my Department for the provision of a full time youth officer for County Kildare. My Department is engaging with the ETB in this regard and I hope to be in a position to make a determination on this request in the coming weeks. In the interim, the ETB has a Youth Officer who is very active in both counties.