Erin McGreehan
Question:158. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she has plans in place for changes or reforms in the youth sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40712/26]
View answerThursday, 28 May 2026
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Written answers
Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy for Youth Work and Related Services is the strategic framework for the youth work sector, published in September 2024. The strategy aims to build awareness of and strengthen youth services and ensure that youth services remain accessible and of value to young people across Ireland. Department officials have drafted an operational action plan to support implementation of the strategy, and consultation with stakeholders involved in the delivery actions is taking place in advance of the finalisation and publication of the plan. The department has received significant input already from the sector, which is reflected in the plan.
The implementation of Opportunities for Youth, and the cooperation of all relevant stakeholders, will be supported through a new National Youth Sector Reference Group (NYSRG), as well as a group comprising representatives from departments and agencies that provide funding to or interact with the youth sector.
The establishment of the NYSRG is being informed by a process of stakeholder mapping and will focus on the design of a consultative forum, that will concentrate on the identification of policy priorities, outputs, and outcomes. The Group will include representatives from across the youth sector, including academics and youth representatives. This will support a balanced and transparent input from across the wider youth sector into national decision-making. A key pillar of this will be the representation of the views of young people, including young people of diverse backgrounds, so that they can influence decision-making in respect of youth work services.
The aim of the Interdepartmental and Interagency Group on State-funded Youth Work Services will be to develop a renewed and whole-of-government vision for the role of state-funded youth work services, including the role of youth work within the wider landscape of provision for children and young people. In turn this will improve coherence and complementarity across schemes and ensure a joined-up approach to supporting young people. This group will comprise relevant departments and state agencies that provide support or funding to youth services, to achieve greater cooperation, coherence and, where appropriate, integration of services.
This will be an important enabler for the further development of a shared understanding of the State’s vision for youth work services in the context of the evolving needs of young people. This includes the role of cross-government funders within a delivery and policy landscape that has altered significantly since the enactment of the Youth Work Act, 2001.
It is intended that, informed by progress to date, further actions for delivery in 2027 and 2028 will be identified after the first phase of delivery. It is anticipated that actions during the second phase will include a review of the Youth Work Act, 2001
Under Action 8 of Opportunities for Youth, work has begun on a review of the UBU scheme. The review will assess how the scheme operates, the extent to which the scheme is meeting its objectives, and whether the processes and procedures that underpin the scheme are fit for purpose.
The department is engaging in a Business Process Improvement (BPI) exercise as part of which engagement with education and training boards (ETBs) and youth service providers has taken place for their feedback on the scheme’s operations. It is expected that this part of the review will be completed in the coming months and will inform next steps.
Separately, consideration is being given to the review of the more qualitative aspects of the UBU scheme, and it is planned that this work will commence in 2026.
Action 15 of Opportunities for Youth, the national strategy for youth work and related services, commits to the delivery a reformed Youth Service Grant Scheme (YSGS) that is more responsive to the current needs of young people, facilitates youth organisations to more effectively deliver services to young people, and enhances the governance and oversight structures for the scheme. An action plan is being prepared for publication to capture the work done under Opportunities for Youth to date and the work for delivery in 2026. This action plan will include timelines for tasks under action 15.
Some important improvements have already been made to the YSGS as a result of the reform process including improvements to grant management documents. A key step in the reform was the opening of the scheme to new applicant organisations under a pilot version of a new application process for the first time in 2024. Five youth organisations were awarded funding under this pilot, bringing the number of national youth organisations funded under the YSGS to thirty-five.
Opportunities for Youth also commits to producing a Workforce Development Strategy, to include consideration of training needs and the requirement for high-quality, accessible and inclusive youth work services and opportunities. As part of the preparatory work to deliver the Workforce Strategy, and to establish baseline data and information, a workforce survey for youth workers was undertaken, followed by a workforce questionnaire for employers.
Consultations are underway which will build on the data acquired to date and provide a more in-depth understanding of the challenges experienced by youth organisations in workforce recruitment and retention.