Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department is in receipt of two streams of European Union funding, the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the Digital Europe Programme (DIGITAL). All funds available have been allocated.

The ESF+ is the EU's primary instrument for investing in people and supporting the European Pillar of Social Rights.

The Employment, Inclusion, Skills and Training Programme, (EIST), is Ireland’s ESF+ programme for the 2021 to 2027 period. The Programme involves a total investment of over €1.08 billion; €508 million from the EU and €573 million from the Government of Ireland.

As part of the EIST Programme my Department funds a number of Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs). As the Deputy will be aware, YDPs are community based, multi-agency crime prevention initiatives which seek to divert young people who have become involved in, or are risk of becoming involved in, criminal or anti-social behaviour, and support wider preventative work within the community and with families at risk.

Under the EIST Programme for 2021-2027, YDPs have been allocated €52,086,600. The Deputy may wish to note that EU funding works on the basis that the money spent from the exchequer is later recouped from the relevant fund. It is expected that my Department will spend in excess of this figure and will recoup up to that amount from the EU.

The Irish Safer Internet Centre (SIC) is a consortium of four leading organisations with a mission to make the Internet a better place for children and young people, under the coordination of the Department of Justice. As part of the EU Safer Internet Initiative, Ireland provides awareness raising, helplines and hotlines via its project partners; Webwise.ie, Hotline.ie, ISPCC Childline, and National Parents Council Primary.

The project partners are co-funded by the European Union under the Digital Europe Programme, an EU funding programme focused on bringing digital technology to businesses, citizens and public administrations.

Under this Programme, the four project partners have been allocated a maximum grant amount totalling €1,127,210 for the Safer Internet Ireland 9 Project covering the period between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2024.

It is expected that the project partners will be allocated a maximum grant amount totalling €1,151,751 for the Safer Internet Ireland 10 Project covering the period between 1 July 2024 and 31 December 2025 under the new Digital Europe Programme.

My Department, in its role as coordinator of this programme, liaises with the EU for the drawdown of funding, which is received into my Department and disbursed to the project partners.

A breakdown of the funding outlined is provided in tabular form below.

EU Co-Funding	Project	Amount	Period
ESF+ EIST	Youth Diversion Projects	€ 52,086,600	2021-2027
DIGITAL	Safer Internet Ireland 9	€ 1,127,210	July 2022-June 2024
DIGITAL	Safer Internet Ireland 10*	€ 1,151,751	July 2024-December 2025

*Grant Agreement expected to be signed in April 2024