John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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507. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will increase funding to an organisation (details supplied) which saw a funding reduction of 20% from 2010 to 2017 while at the same time the organisation grew by 35%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43760/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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In 2017, funding of €57.4m has been provided to my Department for various youth schemes, an increase of €5.5m over 2016. The additional funding is being 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. These schemes include the Youth Service Grant Scheme, amounting to €10.65m in 2017, under which funding is made available on an annual basis to thirty national and major regional youth organisations. 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.

Scouting Ireland receives grant aid on an annual basis under the Youth Service Grant Scheme. In 2017, €876,337 was allocated to the organisation under the Scheme, a 5% increase over the 2016 allocation.

Over the past few years, Scouting Ireland has received significant funding outside of the Youth Service Grant Scheme. The organisation was allocated €150,000 in current funding in 2015 and a further €200,000 in Dormant Accounts funding in 2016 to support the Operation Lelievlet youth employment initiative. It received €49,630 under the capital funding scheme for youth projects and services in 2016 to fund the improvement of disability access and security at Scouting Ireland. In 2015 €30,000 was also provided to the organisation to assist it with its budget sustainability to the year end.

In addition to the grant funding provided to Scouting Ireland in 2017 an additional application for funding has been received for funding for its AcadaMoot Programme and this application is currently under consideration within my Department.