From Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
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The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O'Gorman, T.D., today approved €800,000 additional funding for 65 youth services nationally.
As part of a €5 million package under Budget 2021, Minister O’Gorman secured funding for the first UBU Resilience and Effectiveness Initiative.
Eligible youth services lodged an expression of interest with their local Education and Training Board (ETB) and successful services will see an increase in their base funding going forward. Eligibility related to cost pressures or if there were less than 2 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) workers associated with youth services funded through the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme.
The initiative helps smaller youth services to increase their youth work provision. It also benefits organisations that have been facing cost pressures, including those that have seen a reduction in service provision in recent years.
Sixty-five youth services across all 16 Education and Training Board areas will benefit from the Initiative with increases to their baseline grants ranging from just over €4,000 to almost €38,000.
Minister O’Gorman commented:
“I am delighted to see that this investment of Exchequer funds will help so many youth organisations across the country. This additional funding is not about Covid-19. It is about a long term investment in youth services.
“I particularly welcome the assistance of the ETBs and their efforts to maximise the funding available. This sees the greatest benefit for young people supported by smaller youth services receiving additional funding today.
“I am aware of the incredible hard work taking place in youth services across the country under challenging conditions. This funding will go a long way in bolstering the sustainability of over 60 services across the country.”
ENDS
Funding provided under the UBU Resilience and Effectiveness Initiative will support youth services that are eligible under one of the following three categories:
1. Funded organisations that are experiencing cost pressures outside their control where efforts to identify other means to reduce this effect have been exhausted.
2. Funded organisations that are experiencing cost pressures outside their control which have previously been addressed by reducing service provision.
3. Funded organisations with limited youth worker provision (less than two WTE workers) where an increase in youth work hours would benefit service provision.
Each ETB assessed youth services which submitted an expression of interest for funding under the Initiative and prepared a prioritised list for review by the Department. UBU funded organisations are in close contact with ETBs regarding their needs through the Performance Oversight and Engagement Framework (POEF) as part of UBU Your Place Your Space.
Expressions of interest were open to all organisations funded under the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme, and were assessed if eligible under one of the three categories.
| Education and Training Board | Total Amount per ETB (rounded) | Number of Youth Services Benefitting |
| Cavan Monaghan | €17,500 | 2 |
| City of Dublin | €214,694 | 12 |
| Cork | €75,095 | 9 |
| Donegal | €17,500 | 3 |
| Dublin Dun Laoghaire | €110,545 | 5 |
| Galway Roscommon | €55,092 | 6 |
| Kerry | €17,500 | 1 |
| Kildare Wicklow | €39,746 | 4 |
| Kilkenny Carlow | €17,500 | 2 |
| Laois Offaly | €17,500 | 3 |
| Limerick Clare | €60,833 | 3 |
| Longford Westmeath | €18,197 | 2 |
| Louth Meath | €23,143 | 4 |
| Mayo Sligo Leitrim | €17,500 | 2 |
| Tipperary | €21,629 | 3 |
| Waterford Wexford | €76,027 | 4 |
| Total | €800,000 | 65 |