Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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1135. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the consideration that has been given to the inclusion of young persons from Gaeltacht areas as a target group in the value-for-money and policy review of youth programmes in view of the emphasis on the language planning process taking place in Gaeltacht areas and that proper provision of services for young persons from the Gaeltacht in their native language is vital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47132/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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The Value for Money and Policy Review (VFMPR) of the Youth Funding programmes 2014 examined three of the targeted funding schemes, the Special Projects for Youth (SPY) scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund (YPFSF) rounds 1 and 2, and Local Drug Task Force (LDTF) projects scheme. The schemes support the provision of youth services for young people who are at risk of drugs, alcohol misuse, early school leaving, homelessness or who are living in disadvantaged communities. The review involved an in-depth scrutiny of a complex area to do with the impact youth service provision has in young people’s lives.

One of the key recommendations of the VFMPR was the amalgamation of the above four schemes into a single targeted youth funding scheme. Stakeholder consultations are on-going in relation to the crafting of this new revised scheme.

To provide continued funding to the youth sector during the development of the new funding scheme, the “sample project” programme was created with the following characteristics: priority focus on young people at risk; primarily geographic-community based; non-formal education approach; out of school setting; 10-24 year olds and Hardiker Model of needs assessment – scheme priority on Level Two.

These projects would be based in areas of need as identified by the local Education and Training Boards (ETBs). In 2016, four ETBs established five new youth projects. In 2017, an application process was initiated in April, open to all ETBs. Each ETB was invited to apply for up to three new projects and one augmentation to an existing service in their area. Applications were received at the end of May and, following a review and assessment in early June, services were short-listed for inclusion as sample projects. This has now led to the approval of nine new youth projects and the expansion of seven existing ones.

There are no specific criteria regarding inclusion of young people from Gaeltacht areas as a target group. The Department does, however, provide funding for youth service provision to organisations operating in Gaeltacht areas and/or whose remit includes the promotion of the Irish language and culture. The 2017 allocations were €91,430 to Feachtas and €191,122 to Ógras under the Youth Services Grant Scheme (YSGS) and €57,640 to Udarás na Gaeltachta under SPY.