Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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316. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the extent of the dialogue his Department has had with the youth sector throughout the country over the past three years; the degree to which he has identified specific needs arising therefrom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49013/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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My officials and I maintain close contact with 30 national youth organisations which it funds under the Youth Service Grant Scheme. Formal meetings are held with these organisations twice a year to share knowledge and information on developments or challenges in the youth sector. Although this schedule was impacted by Covid-19, meetings resumed in July of this year. This provides a forum for organisations to give information on national issues but also identify specific locations that require additional focus.

My Department has engaged with the youth sector during the pandemic to develop sector specific guidance which are updated in tandem with the evolving Covid-19 developments. My officials continue to engage regularly with youth sector representatives in relation to the impact of the pandemic and associated health restrictions on young people and youth services.

DCEDIY also provides funding to all 16 Education and Training Boards (ETB) around the country to support youth services in their area and that each ETB has a Youth Officer. Youth Officers provide an important support role to my Department in the co-ordination and administration of youth services at local level. My officials hold quarterly meetings with them and these meetings assist my Department in identifying service needs and emerging issues, particularly for vulnerable young people.

A key tenet of the UBUscheme is the production of evidence of local need. In allocating funding under the scheme, each ETB carries out an Area Profile, Needs Assessment and Service Requirement process. This process draws upon quantitative and qualitative information to objectively identify the needs of young people within the ETB’s functional area. This analysis leads to the development of a Service Requirement, which is then used as the basis for discussion between ETBs and service providers in terms of service delivery to meet the needs of young people in the area. This approach ensures that DCEDIY can target supports to the young people most in need of intervention and that funding is allocated on the basis of evidenced need.

Officials from my Department also meet formally with youth organisations on an individual basis when the need arises and also maintain informal contacts.

As we begin to move beyond the pandemic, the Department will continue to ensure there is sufficient engagement with this important sector which provides enormous value to young people.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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317. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the degree to which his Department continues to liaise with youth organisations at community level throughout the country; the extent to which he has identified any specific needs in respect of future engagements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49014/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Deputy may be aware that DCEDIY provides funding to all 16 Education and Training Boards (ETB) around the country to support youth services in their area and that each ETB has a Youth Officer. Youth Officers provide an important support role to my Department in the co-ordination and administration of youth services at local level. My officials hold quarterly meetings with them and these meetings assist my Department in identifying service needs and emerging issues, particularly for vulnerable young people.

A key tenet of the UBUscheme is the production of evidence of local need. In allocating funding under the scheme, each ETB carries out an Area Profile, Needs Assessment and Service Requirement process. This process draws upon quantitative and qualitative information to objectively identify the needs of young people within the ETB’s functional area. This analysis leads to the development of a Service Requirement, which is then used as the basis for discussion between ETBs and service providers in terms of service delivery to meet the needs of young people in the area. This approach ensures that DCEDIY can target supports to the young people most in need of intervention and that funding is allocated on the basis of evidenced need.

DCEDIY also maintains close contact with 30 national youth organisations which it funds under the Youth Service Grant Scheme. The Minister and officials meet formally with these organisations twice a year to share knowledge and information on developments or challenges in the youth sector. Although this schedule was impacted by Covid-19, meetings resumed in July of this year. This provides a forum for organisations to give information on national issues but also identify specific locations that require additional focus. Throughout Covid-19, the Department engaged with a representative group from the sector on pandemic specific issues including the regular updating of national guidelines for the youth sector relating to COVID

Officials from my Department also meet formally with youth organisations on an individual basis when the need arises and also maintain informal contacts.

As we begin to move beyond the pandemic, the Department will continue to ensure there is sufficient engagement with this important sector which provides enormous value to young people.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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318. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the efforts his Department continues to make with various youth organisations to encourage integration and observance of equality requirements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49015/21]

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The Department funds the provision of universal and targeted youth services to young people, generally aged between 10 and 24, throughout the country. Between 2016 and 2021, the annual current youth funding allocation for youth services increased from €51.9m to €66.79m.

The largest youth funding scheme funded by my Department is the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme. As described in the National Youth Strategy, young people aged between 10 and 24 years old who are experiencing marginalisation or are disadvantaged or vulnerable are the primary target group for youth services funded by UBU Your Place Your Space.

The Department also provides funding support to equality, intercultural and integration programmes managed by the National Youth Council of Ireland, the purpose of which is to embed inclusion and diversity actions within the youth sector and to engage hard-to-reach young people.

DCEDIY has strong governance arrangements in place with 30 national youth organisations it funds, and with 16 Education and Training Boards which are the mid-level governance structure for most of Ireland's youth funding. Through these governance arrangements, DCEDIY can ensure national policy is implemented.

The suite of national equality strategies, overseen and coordinated by my Department, act as the central policy framework adopted by Government to address inequality across Irish society. The strategies include the Migrant Integration Strategy (MIS), the National Strategy for Women and Girls (NSWG), the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS), the National Disability Inclusion Strategy (NDIS), the National LGBTI+ Inclusion Strategy, the National LGBTI+ Strategy for Youth, and the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities (CES).

The implementation of each equality strategy is overseen by a steering committee which draws together State and non-State actors to deliver a better quality of life for all, through targeted actions to promote social inclusion and improved access to public services. The Minister for CEDIY chairs the meetings of the committees charged with the monitoring and oversight of the strategies, with the exception of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy steering group which is chaired by the Minister of State for Disability, Deputy Anne Rabbitte T.D., and the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities which is chaired by Fergus Finlay.

As some of these strategies near their conclusion, DCEDIY will work with stakeholders to examine what has been achieved over their term and how we can bring forth the next iterations of those strategies and ensure their effectiveness.