John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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525. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on her Department's work in relation to mapping of youth service provision across the State; the areas which are showing high levels of deprivation in relation to youth services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11640/18]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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526. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on the future development of a single targeted youth funding programme to replace the current schemes; the status of the establishment of several sample projects in 2016 and 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11641/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 525 and 526 together.

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 scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund, and Local Drug Task Force 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. Overall, the review found that the youth programmes can provide a significant contribution to improving outcomes for young people and should be considered for on-going public funding. The review makes a number of recommendations for the future operation of the youth schemes and their development in the years ahead to ensure an evidence-based and outcomes focussed programme designed to secure the optimal outcomes for young people.

The National Youth Strategy Lead Team has a specific sub-group to support implementation of the VFMPR recommendations. The single targeted youth funding programme is currently under development within my Department and is being informed by a number of ongoing activities. In 2017 my Department consulted with almost 600 stakeholders including young people, workers, managers/ boards of management, ETBs and other departments and agencies funding services for young people at risk. This was carried out at 16 different events across the country. My Department also held specialist consultations with 13 different target groups of difficult to reach young people. In addition, a measurement advisory group has been established and the group is undertaking a number of research activities to inform a measurement system for the single scheme. An area profiling tool is also under development.

To facilitate the review’s recommendations regarding the future development of a single targeted youth funding programme to replace the current schemes, I have approved funding allocations for the establishment of several sample projects in 2016 and 2017. These projects provide youth services in areas of need as identified by the Education and Training Boards with responsibility for those regions while also operating as pilot programmes for new scheme development. Funding was allocated for the establishment of 5 new sample projects in 2016 and 10 in 2017. Funding has also been allocated to augment 7 existing projects in 2017. The initial five 2016 projects are now operational with those approved during 2017 in various stages of formation. The sample projects are located across the country and fall within 11 ETB areas.

In implementing another of the review’s recommendations, my Department embarked on an exercise, in conjunction with Pobal and each Education and Training Board Youth Officer, to map youth service provision across the State. Data was collated in relation to project boundaries, locations of the project buildings and up-to-date contact details of youth services. Pobal, in association with Compass, compiled this data into an online map of youth services in Ireland. The map was publically released in October 2017 and is available on Pobal's website. This map was used in the 2017 sample process by my Department and the relevant Education and Training Boards as an indicator of population demographics and deprivation levels which could inform decisions in relation to funding allocations for specific areas.