Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 February 2026
173. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she can provide details of the resilience and effectiveness scheme; the length of time it has been operating; the way in which the decision is made on whether the fund will run in a year; the drawdowns by ETB that have been made in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10937/26]
View answerThe department is dedicated to enhancing the delivery and development of youth work services and opportunities for young people across the country.
Funding for the provision of targeted youth services is administered on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth (DEY) by education and training boards (ETBs), which allocate funding via applications to the UBU Your Place Your Space (UBU) scheme. This scheme is aimed at young people between the ages of 10 and 24 who are, or are at risk, of becoming disadvantaged, marginalised or vulnerable.
In 2026, over €53 million will be allocated to the UBU scheme. The scheme provides funding to 258 targeted youth services across 16 education and training boards (ETBs) which coordinate delivery of funding to the services in their local ETB areas.
The Resilience and Effectiveness (R&E) Initiative is a UBU Your Place Your Space (UBU) initiative to support UBU funded organisations to deliver more efficient and comprehensive services to young people, while ensuring that they have sufficient resilience to operate effectively in the medium to long term.
The R&E initiative has been designed to address specific issues or concerns within individual UBU funded organisations, whether to address ongoing financial challenges or to increase service provision for young people. The process is open to all organisations funded under Strand A of the UBU scheme who meet the eligibility criteria set by the department.
The role of each ETB is to identify and prioritise funded organisations within its functional area that should be considered under this initiative. Funded organisations seeking to be awarded an amount under this initiative submit a short form to their relevant ETB demonstrating how they meet the eligibility criteria.
The R&E initiative was launched in 2021. The decision on whether the R&E initiative will run in a given year is subject to the overall budget allocated to the Youth Affairs unit and the unit's priorities for that year.
The drawdowns by ETB that have been made in each year the R&E initiative has run are listed in the following table:
|
ETB |
UBU R & E Expenditure 2021 |
UBU R & E Expenditure 2022 |
UBU R & E Expenditure 2023 |
UBU R & E Expenditure 2024 |
UBU R & E Expenditure 2025 |
|
Cavan and Monaghan ETB |
€5,883.00 |
€13,125.00 |
N/A |
€13,333.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
City of Dublin ETB |
€71,562.00 |
€161,021.00 |
N/A |
€113,349.00 |
€139,212.00 |
|
Cork ETB |
€25,028.00 |
€56,322.00 |
N/A |
€37,651.00 |
€46,461.50 |
|
Dublin Dun Laoghaire ETB |
€36,846.00 |
€72,647.00 |
N/A |
€72,997.34 |
€84,420.00 |
|
Donegal ETB |
€5,833.00 |
€13,126.00 |
N/A |
€12,000.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Galway and Roscommon ETB |
€18,363.00 |
€41,321.00 |
N/A |
€29,865.00 |
€28,520.25 |
|
Kerry ETB |
€5,833.00 |
€13,126.00 |
N/A |
€13,333.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Kildare and Wicklow ETB |
€13,248.00 |
€25,461.00 |
N/A |
€23,688.00 |
€34,186.00 |
|
Kilkenny and Carlow ETB |
€5,833.00 |
€12,938.00 |
N/A |
€13,333.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Laois Offaly ETB |
€5,833.00 |
€13,127.00 |
N/A |
€12,000.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Limerick and Clare ETB |
€20,277.00 |
€45,625.00 |
N/A |
€36,229.00 |
€43,902.00 |
|
Longford and Westmeath ETB |
€6,065.00 |
€13,648.00 |
N/A |
€13,334.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Louth and Meath ETB |
€7,713.00 |
€17,358.98 |
N/A |
€12,000.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim ETB |
€5,833.00 |
€13,125.00 |
N/A |
€13,333.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Tipperary ETB |
€7,210.00 |
€16,222.00 |
N/A |
€13,333.00 |
€20,000.00 |
|
Waterford and Wexford ETB |
€25,342.00 |
€57,022.00 |
N/A |
€31,255.00 |
€43,295.00 |
|
TOTAL |
€266,702.00 |
€585,214.98 |
€0.00 |
€461,033.34 |
€599,996.75 |
The scheme will run again in 2026 and allocations are currently being finalised for issue to the ETBs.
