John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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684. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the expenditure and allocations attributable to drugs programmes that were made available in each of the past five years; the projects and programmes supported by the funding in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7112/19]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Responsibility for 21 youth related projects receiving funding under Local Drug Task Force (LDTF) funding transferred to my Department in 2011. These projects, targeting young people under the various pillars of the National Drug Strategy, provide a range of supports for young people by way of targeted drug prevention and awareness programmes as well as referrals.

The Value for Money and Policy Review of the Youth Funding programmes 2014 examined four of the targeted funding schemes, the Special Projects for Youth scheme, the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund 1 & 2, and Local Drug Task Force projects scheme. 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 had three key messages:

- The youth programmes can provide a significant contribution to improving outcomes for young people and should be considered for on-going public funding.

-The current model of performance management, governance and scheme design are not fit for purpose and needed complete reform

- A single scheme should replace the current four schemes with a clear focus on targeted young people.

The review makes a number of recommendations for the future operation of a new youth funding schemes to ensure an evidence-informed and outcomes focussed programme is designed to secure the optimal outcomes for young people.

As a result of the VFMPR report my Department is managing the most significant reform of youth services ever undertaken. This will provide an opportunity to identify need and to focus funding on young people most in need of intervention.

In advance of the introduction of a new single targeted funding scheme in 2020, a transition phase in 2019 will see the funding previously provided under the four funding programmes, including the LDTF funding, collapsed into one funding stream for 2019 to assist with preparations for the new scheme in 2020.

The tables below set out below are the Local Drug Task Force funding allocations for the past five years.