Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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547. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason funding is being withheld from an organisation (details supplied); if her attention has been drawn to concerns of local scout units that this will lead to the cessation of scouting activities in the near future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17892/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Arising from media coverage I became aware that an alleged perpetrator of a sexual assault was reinstated by Scouting Ireland without any further Garda vetting and was subsequently promoted within the volunteer ranks of Scouting Ireland.

Funding provided by my Department to youth organisations is contingent on organisations meeting with a range of governance standards, including commitment to and compliance with the legal requirements in the area of child protection.

In view of the information available to me relating to the governance arrangements within the organisation, I decided to withhold the drawdown of any further funding to Scouting Ireland under the Youth Service Grant Scheme until such time as I can be satisfied that the organisation's governance standards are up to the required level.

I subsequently met with Scouting Ireland on Thursday 19 April and I was informed of the organisation’s plans to reform the governance of the organisation and put new structures in place. Scouting Ireland also confirmed their commitment to implement the recommendations in relation to safeguarding and to carry out a full review of historic cases. The Garda vetting of the individual referred to in recent media reports has also been actioned.

There are a number of steps to be taken before I can be assured that Scouting Ireland has the proper governance arrangements in place which will allow me to restore funding.

The funding provided to organisations under the Youth Service Grant Scheme is primarily provided to head offices of those organisations. Scouting Ireland has been provided with €438,168 so far in 2018 which will continue to fund the organisation up until the end of June.

The Local Youth Club Grant Scheme supports youth work activities at a local level and grants are made available to clubs and organisations through the Education and Training Boards. Local scouting groups can still apply to their local Education and Training Board for grant funding under this scheme.