Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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566. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will offer grant aid to youth organisations or others involved in the provision of facilities for young persons on an ongoing basis in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31545/17]

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 involving approximately 1,400 youth work staff working in youth services and communities throughout the country.

Budget 2017 provided an additional €5.5m in current funding to my Department to support the provision of these youth services. This will bring total youth funding in 2017 to €57.4m. In recent years, capital funding has also been made available to my Department to purchase equipment and to support small-scale projects, including refurbishment, health and safety fit-outs and accessibility improvements in local voluntary youth services.