Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
532. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the breakdown of the allocation of the existing levels of services funding for youth affairs, for each of the past six years and for 2026, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6132/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra534. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the figure provided by her Department to maintain existing levels service in youth affairs in each of the past five years, including in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6134/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 532 and 534 together.
As 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. This investment will strengthen the foundation for inclusive, high-quality provision — ensuring continuity, expanding reach, and enabling services to respond to the evolving needs of Ireland’s diverse youth population. Over the period from 2020 to 2026, the funding for the Youth Affairs Unit has increased by 43%
Following the transfer of functions in May of last year, the main Youth Affairs budget subhead was renamed from B06 to 10.8. This consolidated a number of areas that had previously been captured under a separate subhead, namely C05 - Children and Young People’s Policy Framework and Other Programmes. This included Foróige’s Big Brother Big Sister mentoring programme, as well as the Youth Climate Justice Fund. For ease of understanding, the following table has been updated to reflect this newly combined 10.8 subhead and the realignment of expenditure previously recorded under subhead C05.
The table below outlines the current funding allocation for the Youth Affairs Unit, detailing the resources provided to maintain the existing level of service across the 10.8 sub-head.
|
Year |
Allocation (Current) B06 |
C05 Allocation
|
Total Allocation 10.8 |
|
2020 ELS |
€61.789m |
€0.534m |
€62.323m |
|
2021 ELS |
€66.789m |
€0.534m |
€67.323m |
|
2022 ELS |
€71.789m |
€0.540m |
€72.329m |
|
2023 ELS |
€72.948m |
€1.570m |
€74.518m |
|
2024 ELS |
€74.448m |
€1.655m |
€76.103m |
|
2025 ELS |
€82.198m |
€1.713m |
€83.911m |
|
2026 ELS |
€88.398m |
€1.713m |
€90.111m |
