merrion street

Children & Youth Affairs Minister Frances Fitzgerald has announced details of a special once off provision of €200,000 to support 18 youth projects around the country.

This money will specifically support the provision of Youth Cafés enabling existing youth projects to upgrade existing premises and/or purchase additional equipment in order to provide a safe, alcohol and drug free meeting space for young people.

Minister Fitzgerald stated:

My Department is committed to supporting the development of quality; front-line youth work projects and services which address to the changing needs of young people and communities.

A key element of this is to support the continued nationwide development of youth café facilities given the considerable benefits they offer for young people to meet in safe drug and alcohol free spaces and most importantly the identification of the need for such spaces by young people themselves.

In support of this priority, I have ensured that as part of the Government’s Capital Review published last month the capital funding available for youth project is to increase from €0.8m in 2011 to €1.5m in each of 2012 & 2013

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs now estimates that between 75-100 youth café facilities now operate across the state and are seen as hugely beneficial to local communities in terms of broader engagement with young people.