Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
308. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide a table of increases for the Youth Affairs funding subhead between 2025 and 2026; if she will provide this information to include 2025 allocation, 2026 allocation and percentage increase; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13489/26]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, I was pleased to announce that arising from Budget 2026, an additional €8 million in current and capital funding has been allocated to support the sustainability and development of youth services. This funding increase brings the overall core current and capital funding available to support existing youth services and infrastructure to €94.1 million for 2026, a 9.3% increase on the corresponding funding available in 2025.
In 2026, the core current funding allocation of €90.1 million will support existing youth services and youth organisations of both targeted and universal services for young people. This investment will contribute to sustaining and enhancing participation levels across all schemes, which now involve over 450,000 young people.
A breakdown of the confirmed increases for Youth Affairs–funded schemes is provided in the table below. The remaining scheme allocations for 2026 are still under review and will be issued to ETBs and National Youth Organisations following finalisation.
|
Scheme |
2025 Allocation |
2026 Allocation |
% Increase |
|
UBU Main Scheme |
€51,909,620 |
€53,466,909 |
3% |
|
YSGS Main Scheme |
€14,833,372 |
€15,278,373 |
3% |
|
ETB Youth Grant |
€5,416,524 |
€5,676,626 |
4.8% |
|
Local Youth Club Grant Scheme |
€2,700,000 |
€2,764,000 |
2% |
|
Youth Information Expenditure |
€1,512,166 |
€1,557,531 |
3% |
|
TYESI |
€1,187,000 |
€1,267,750 |
6.8% |
|
UBU - R&E |
€609,505 |
€1,100,000 |
80% |
