Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2026
189. Deputy Noel McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the work of her Department in supporting rural youth services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13379/26]
View answerThe department supports the delivery of youth services nationwide. Arising from Budget 2026, €94.1 million has been allocated for current and capital expenditure for the benefit of young people, an increase in funding of €8 million, or almost 9.3%, on the 2025 budget. Over the period from 2020 to 2026, the level of current Exchequer funding for youth services and programmes has increased by over 44%. This investment will facilitate the implementation of Opportunities for Youth: The National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services 2024-2028, which includes a clear set of strategic objectives and 18 priority actions intended to strengthen the role of youth work and related services in the lives of young people in throughout Ireland.
Young people experiencing rural isolation are a specified target group under the department's largest youth funding scheme UBU Your Place Your Space (UBU), under which over €53 million is being allocated in 2026. 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. The UBU 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.
Since the launch of this scheme in 2020, significant additional funding has been allocated to new services in rural towns across the country. In 2025, additional funding of €1.2 million was provided for the establishment of a further ten new UBU youth services and these new services will provide targeted youth worker-led support to up to 1,000 disadvantaged young people where they are most needed.
The ten ETBs awarded funding for a new UBU service are as follows:
• Cavan and Monaghan ETB - Foroige Northeast Youth Service
• Donegal ETB - East Donegal South Central UBU
• Kerry ETB - KCYS UBU Greater Kenmare Project
• Kildare and Wicklow ETB - In Sync Newbridge Urban and Morristownbiller UBU
• Kilkenny and Carlow ETB - Urlingford/Johnstown UBU
• Laois and Offaly ETB - UBU Laois Connect
• Longford and Westmeath ETB - Castlepollard UBU
• Louth and Meath ETB - Mid Louth Youth Service
• Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim ETB - Castlebar/Ballinrobe UBU
• Tipperary ETB - Carrick On Suir UBU
The services were established at the end of 2025 and are expected to be fully operational in 2026.
The Local Youth Club Grant Scheme funded by the department and administered by the ETBs supports volunteer led youth clubs across the country, and are particularly important in rural areas. €2.764 million has been provided by the department for this scheme in 2026, an increase of 2.3% on 2025 level. This scheme ensures that rural communities can have access to volunteer-led youth clubs and groups fostering personal development, inclusion, and well-being.
The Youth Services Grant Scheme (YSGS) main scheme provides funding to 35 National Youth Organisations to provide universal youth services across Ireland, in both urban and rural areas. The department is providing €15.2 million this year under this scheme, an increase of 3%. The YSGS plays a crucial role in supporting rural youth by ensuring that young people have access to clubs, activities, and supports that foster their growth and engagement. Additionally, these Organisations enhance the wider youth sector by offering training for volunteer youth workers, promoting evidence-based youth work, and advocating for the voluntary youth sector. This ensures that rural youth benefit from high-quality services despite geographical challenges.
The department is currently conducting a comprehensive mapping exercise of the youth services sector, aiming to capture all youth services, both youth worker-led and volunteer-led. This mapping exercise leverages CSO population data and the Pobal deprivation index to help identify gaps in service provision and enable the department and stakeholders to develop proposals to expand youth service provision where necessary. The mapping exercise will also include an external facing website, providing information to young people, their guardians, and teachers of youth clubs and services which are available in their communities.
Finally, my officials and I will also continue to engage with the ETBs across the country who have responsibility for supporting the provision, coordination, administration, and assessment of youth services in its functional area to understand the youth service needs of young people across the country, including those living in rural and remote communities. To support this work, the ETB youth grant has increased from €5.4 million in 2025 to €5.6 million in 2026, representing an increase of approximately 4.8%. This increase includes the baselining of four ETBs (Donegal ETB, Laois Offaly ETB, Longford Westmeath ETB, and Kerry ETB) to a new base allocation of €175,000, as these ETBs had previously been below this level.
