Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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583. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the level of funding for youth affairs in County Meath; and the way this compares with other counties. [50333/17]

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 in communities. I am pleased to confirm that the total youth funding by my Department was €57.4m 2017. Budget 2018 provided an additional €1.5m in current funding to my Department to support the provision of youth services. This additional funding will be used for programmes that target disadvantaged young people. My Department has commenced a process with national organisations and local services to identify service development needs for 2018 and to finalise the 2018 allocations. Every effort will be made to complete this process as soon as possible.

In 2017, an amount of €138,788 was allocated for the targeted youth projects and services in County Meath, as follows:

Funding to these staff-led youth services has generally been targeted at areas of disadvantage and not in proportion to the youth population of each county. My Department this year completed an exercise with Pobal and each Education and Training Board which mapped youth service provision across the State. This mapping exercise will assist my Department and each Education and Training Board in developing a detailed social demographic profile in terms of both population numbers and deprivation levels and will inform future development and investment in youth services. My Department is committed to working with Louth and Meath Education and Training Board to identify need and explore ways to address this need where it emerges.

The Local Youth Club Grant Scheme supports youth work activities at a local level. These grants are made available to all youth clubs and groups through the local Education and Training Boards. The scheme, which is open to new entrants, is advertised locally and applications for funding are invited by the Education and Training Boards from local groups in their respective areas. Each year, some 1,700 local youth clubs are eligible to apply under the scheme. In 2017, I have provided an additional 10% in funding to the scheme, bringing the total allocation to €1.1715. Funds are allocated to each of the sixteen Education and Training Boards, in proportion to the most recent census population in 10 to 24 age range available at the time of allocation.

In addition, I was pleased to approve the establishment the Local Youth Club Equipment Scheme in 2017 which will provide €6.35m. nationally. The primary focus of this scheme was to assist volunteer led clubs and groups that work with young people in communities throughout the country. The scheme provides for the purchase of equipment for sport, arts, adventure and other much needed items. Allocations to each of the sixteen Education and Training Boards were distributed in proportion to the number of clubs eligible to apply under the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme.

Youth Officers of the Education and Training Boards have an important support role to my Department in the administration and coordination of youth services at local level. Youth Officers engage with local services, on behalf of my Department. They provide support and advice in matters to do with the application and reporting processes for funding and the implementation of quality standards in services for young people. In this context, I was pleased to provide funding to Louth and Meath Education and Training Board recruit a second youth officer during 2017. The allocation to the Education and Training Board for this purpose amounted to €129,640 in 2017.