Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
309. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Youth the provisions made for cost-of-living and pay comparability pressures to prevent erosion of youth service capacity across funded organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13490/26]
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 brings the overall core current and capital funding available to support existing youth services and youth work infrastructure to €94.1 million for 2026, representing 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 across both targeted and universal provision for young people. This significant investment contributes directly to sustaining and enhancing participation levels across all youth funding schemes, which now involve over 450,000 young people nationwide. Both the Youth Services Grant Scheme, which supports 35 national youth organisations, and the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme, which funds 258 local youth services, received a 3% increase in their 2026 allocations, enabling these organisations to maintain existing levels of service provision and respond to operational costs.
Working with the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) and the national youth organisations, the department continues to monitor cost pressures closely. In that context, the Youth Affairs Unit has developed the Resilience and Effectiveness (R&E) Initiative as an important component of the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme, which received an 80% increase in Budget 2026, rising to €1.1 million. The R&E initiative is specifically designed to assist UBU-funded organisations to deliver more efficient, sustainable and comprehensive services to young people, while ensuring that organisations retain sufficient resilience to operate effectively over the medium to long term.
The initiative enables support for organisations experiencing particular challenges, including those arising from increasing operational costs or other financial pressures linked to the cost of living. It also facilitates investment where organisations seek to expand or strengthen their service provision for young people.
Under the initiative, ETBs play a central role in identifying and prioritising organisations within their functional areas that should be considered for support. Organisations funded under Strand A of the UBU scheme and meeting the department’s eligibility criteria may submit a short form through their ETB, outlining the basis on which they are seeking support under this initiative.
Through both the enhanced funding for 2026 and targeted supports such as the R&E Initiative, the department is committed to ensuring that youth services remain sustainable, resilient and capable of meeting the needs of young people in every community.
