Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 27 Jun 2024

I thank the Minister of State for appearing. Last week, I withdrew my Topical Issue because he could not be here. I am pleased to see him here.

The National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, is the organisation on whose behalf I am interested in asking this question. It has 26,000 members nationwide. Last August, the Minister of State announced plans to amend the open season order to remove four species of duck, namely, scaup, pochard, golden eye and pintail duck. Comments in recent days from both the Minister of State and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, at a committee meeting that the four aforementioned species were near extinct were met with incredulity by many. Being amber or red on the traffic-light system in itself is not a sign of near extinction. In fact, at a recent meeting of the EU taskforce on the recovery of birds, it was decided, based on scientific assessment, that pochard, one of the four species removed by the Minister of State, should be subject to an adaptive harvest management plan.

There was no proposal from the EU to ban the hunting of pochard. In the case of another species, scaup, the EU saw no need for action, as its traffic-light rating was expected to improve to green. Against this backdrop, I ask the Minister of State to publish the basis for the scientific evidence that the four species were near extinct, or else withdraw it.

During the consultation on the review of the open-season order, the National Association of Regional Games Councils was invited to one meeting, which it attended. Further, more detailed meetings with the NARGC were promised but they never happened. This goes to the key point I am making. Consultation and engagement with rural interests have been lacking, particularly when compared with the level of engagement there has been with environmental NGOs. The Minister of State met the NARGC and the field sports sector five times but he has met environmental NGOs more than 50 times, according to his official diary.

Over the past three months, the NARGC has been in regular contact with the Minister of State's office seeking a meeting, but has yet to receive a response. The pattern is replicated in the Government's approach to stakeholder forums. In 2021, the review of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, recommended the creation of a new advisory committee with a wide stakeholder base. The watered down strategic action plan, approved by the Government, agreed to establish a stakeholder forum, with an implementation deadline of September 2022. In response to a recent parliamentary question, the Minister of State referred to the establishment of the stakeholder forum and stated that an initial meeting was held in June 2023, with a number of environmental NGOs, including the Irish Environmental Network, IEN. However, this week at a committee meeting, the NPWS claimed that the forum was not yet established and that the meeting last year was a briefing for environmental NGOs. It is bad enough that the forum has not been established, long after the deadline of September 2022, but even worse, when rural interests are not afforded the benefit of the briefing which was afforded to environmental NGOs. The response to the question to the NPWS at the committee this week also suggests that the planned stakeholder forum may only be used to review the responses to the consultation on the review of wildlife legislation. This suggests only a limited role for the forum, which is very worrying. Rural interests deserve a permanent seat at the table.

Separately, last year's announcement on the open-season order was accompanied by a commitment to establish a sustainable hunting and wild bird stakeholders' forum, with the promise of it being established within weeks. Nearly a year later, there still has not been a meeting. All of this points to a clear pattern of rural interests being excluded, while environmental NGOs seem to have a direct line to the Minister of State. There needs to be parity of esteem and equal access to meetings for the NARGC and environmental NGOs. I remind the Minister of State that the NARGC is one of Ireland's best and biggest wild bird conservation organisations. I ask the Minister of State to commit to meeting the NARGC without any further delay and to commit to establishing the new NPWS stakeholder forum, without any further delay, to fully include rural interests, such as those of the NARGC.

I thank Deputy Murphy for her question. My Department is committed to consultation with relevant interested parties in relation to ongoing policy decisions on hunting and conservation. As a member of the European Union, Ireland is obliged to comply with various directives and regulations that relate to conservation and game hunting. The EU has played a very significant role in developing minimum standards of protection for certain wildlife species and their habitats, and in the first instance, policy on conservation and game hunting is developed under the legal framework set down by EU law. In meeting these legal requirements and developing our own national policies, my Department is keen to engage with all relevant stakeholders. There is a recognition that policy needs to be achievable, workable and should strike a balance between the needs of humans and the needs of wildlife.

There is ongoing communication on a wide range of issues pertaining to the work of the NPWS. Examples include conservation schemes, a new e-licensing system for deer hunters, and the development this year of a new wild mammals open-seasons order that extended the hunting season. There are also a number of structures in place to ensure communication in relation to rural interests. For instance, earlier this year, the sustainable hunting of wild birds stakeholder forum was established. Mr. Teddy Cashman has been appointed as chair of this forum. The forum will facilitate discussions and collaboration across relevant sectors on the issue of sustainable hunting. All relevant stakeholders will be brought together to discuss a shared vision for sustainable hunting and to present recommendations to the Minister. A series of bilateral meetings with relevant stakeholders has commenced and the first full forum meeting of all relevant stakeholders will take place by the end of quarter 3 2024. I give my commitment to that.

A further example is the national biodiversity forum which comprises 15 to 20 members, including representatives of landowners, farmers, industry, natural heritage and environmental NGOs. The role of the forum includes improving stakeholder engagement and public awareness and understanding of biodiversity.

As the Deputy will be aware, the NPWS and my Department commenced a review of wildlife legislation today. This is an extensive review and is a multi-year project. It is examining closely the effectiveness of our legislation in protecting wildlife and regulating activities that adversely impact on wildlife and biodiversity. As part of this project, last year, my Department held early engagement meetings with 18 of the key stakeholders. It sought their broad initial views on what aspects of our legislation were weak, what needed to be improved, what was missing and what did not work for them. The engagement included farming groups, representatives of hunting organisations and game sports, and environmental organisations. My Department is committed to further meetings with national organisations with an interest in this area as the project develops and the need arises. We see the hunting sector as doing important work for conservation. As I said, a public consultation process commenced today. This will be the first of many phases of consultation. I encourage all interested parties to submit their views using this process and engage with the process as it develops. All submissions received will be carefully considered.

Regarding the NARGC, I checked back on the meeting schedule. I met the organisation four times. I spoke at its annual conference as well. There is a bit of confusion about the stakeholder groups. Along with officials from the NPWS, we host bilateral meetings with many environmental, community and stakeholder groups on a wide range of local and national issues. A meeting was held in June 2023 with a number of environmental NGOs, including the IEN. This is an umbrella network that represents more than 35 NGOs. A number of bilateral meetings have been held in the interim. To be clear, this was not a meeting of the structured stakeholder forum, as membership and the terms of reference for such a group have not been agreed. Throughout my tenure as Minister of State, my door has always been open. I am more than happy to meet any group to discuss any issue. There has been a lot of misinformation about the meetings I did or did not have with representative organisations. However, I do see the NARGC as an important stakeholder in the conservation of wildlife.

I thank the Minister of State for the clarity. Unfortunately, the misinformation came from him. It was he who said that there had been the first meeting of stakeholder engagement. I am glad he has corrected the record. However, it is fundamental to the success of any policy that all stakeholders are included and that the Minister of State does not pick and choose to decide on the agenda, particularly an agenda that may not suit.

To be fair to the NARGC, I have attended many of its functions where thousands of euro were donated. The organisation has cross-border engagement with other countries, such as Norway and the other Nordic countries, with representatives coming here. The NARGC gave me my first introduction to conservation. It does it really well and I cannot see why anyone would be at odds with it. The NARGC has taken judicial review proceedings based on the lack of evidence that has been provided to remove four species. That is not the forum any of us need to be in.

Two days ago, I watched the committee proceedings with representatives from the NPWS. I have great time for Niall Ó Donnchú. However, I heard him use the phrase "based on scientific evidence" a number of times. That scientific evidence has not been provided or does not correlate with the actions that have been taken. That is where we have gone wrong here. It is imperative that rural stakeholders have the same level of engagement as NGOs, which are probably in receipt of some funding, whereas we have a voluntary organisation doing wonderful work. I have seen at first hand its conservation efforts.

I do not see why we should be at odds with one another. I again ask the Minister of State to ensure that when he refers to all stakeholders, he specifically mentions the NARGC.

Absolutely. As I said, my door has always been open to all organisations. We are in the depths of a biodiversity crisis and it is critically important that all stakeholders play a role. I fully recognise the important work the NARGC and its members do, particularly with regard to grey partridge and other species across the country.

On the four species, the scientific evidence is there on the red- and amber-listed species to warrant their removal. I will say no more on that, but we must act in respect of those. As Minister of State, I have taken action when evidence was presented to me. That is important.

Separately, I reiterate the point about the engagement, the stakeholder forum and the two separate stakeholder processes that are taking place. I encourage the NARGC and all organisations to engage now in the very important process I have initiated today, namely the review of our wildlife legislation. That is extremely important. It is available on the Department’s website today. We ask them to engage in that. There was a consultation with stakeholders in relation to the open season order.

My Department and I, for as long as I am Minister of State, will engage with relevant stakeholders. I see our hunting lobby and our environmental NGOs as all having an equal say in this because not many other stakeholders feel they have a view on wildlife and nature conservation in Ireland. It is very important that we keep those channels of communication open. Again, I reach out to say that to the NARGC today.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. Ideally, it would be helpful if a Minister from the Department of Health were present, but there is a certain urgency about this case. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could feed what I am about to say to his colleagues in that Department.

I am concerned about the lack of a dietician in CHO 7 and what this means for people who require the services offered by such an individual. Modern medicine relies on multidisciplinary teams, medical nurses and other professionals to provide the best possible patient care. When we fail to recruit and allow gaps to appear in various specialties, the model does not work and the disciplines are just not there.

A constituent approached me recently. She is the mother of a baby boy who needs to see a dietician. Her child, who is called Frankie, started to show a severe allergy to his food. He is aged about a year and a half. His reaction was so acute that the mother brought him to the doctor immediately. She was advised her to keep a food diary and the child was referred to the community dietician for urgent intervention. However, there is no community dietician. The mother naturally expected to be told how long the waiting list was for CHO 7 and hoped that a baby would be prioritised, given how serious this can be and how the situation can deteriorate so quickly for children so young. She was told in May that there was no waiting list because there was no dietician for the entire CHO 7 area, which takes in Kildare, west Wicklow, Dublin west, Dublin south city and Dublin south west. For all those hundreds of thousands of people, there is not one dietician. The child cannot see a consultant in Tallaght University Hospital until the allergy is proven, but an allergy skin-prick test cannot be performed unless a consultant or dietician requests it. This is a catch-22 situation. The only way out of this limbo is to have the test done privately. Since the private system is being forced to cover the gaps in the public system, the family is being forced to wait. It costs about €180 for the test. Not every family has that. All the while, the GP advises that the child might face development issues with his digestive system as a result of the untreated allergy. To have any hope of getting the diagnosis and treatment for her child the mother was going to be forced to go private. What sort of message does that send to new parents with all the stress and worry they already have? All those people in CHO 7 cannot receive nutritional assessments or tailored care plans to meet nutritional requirements or correct a poor nutritional status.

Dieticians are vital in the context of improving the lives of people suffering not only from gastrointestinal disorders but also diabetes, cancer, kidney failure and a host of other conditions. As a specialism in the health service, it is not an optional extra. We talk about preventative healthcare but we are failing to cover even the most basic provision in so many areas. What options do parents and families like this in the public system? What way can the find their way out of the limbo where they need tests to see specialists that only specialists can provide? The matter is compounded by the lack of community nursing in the system. The community nurse would normally monitor the development of the child, both in this case and generally in the community, but because of the shortage in the system at the moment, that is not happening. There is a bit of a crisis in the area. I do not know if the Minister of State has something positive to tell this family. It is a cry for help from this family and I am sure there are many others who are in the same boat and looking for some sort of support on this.

I thank Deputy Crowe for raising this matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health. The Minister recognises the central role that primary care therapy services, including dieticians, play in providing care and treatment to both children and adults in the community. He is also aware that the demand for a dietetic service in the CHO 7 area has grown over recent years, and that this increase in demand has been coupled with an increasing complexity of service-user needs.

Additionally, the recruitment of dieticians in this area has been an ongoing challenge due to the lack of availability of suitably qualified candidates, along with the current pause on recruitment in the HSE. For example, the HSE has advised that, at this time in CHO 7, the enhanced community care, ECC, chronic disease programme has 12 whole time equivalent, WTEs, in post which is 46% of the 26 WTE posts approved. At the community healthcare network and hub level, the dietetic community service has 15.73 WTEs in post, 47% of an approved 33.4 WTEs. Unfortunately, the number of vacant dietitian posts coupled with the increased complexity of service user needs in the community has resulted in the provision of dietetic services being restricted in many areas in CHO 7. These restrictions include a reduced home enteral nutrition, HEN, service or the absence of paediatric dietetic service.

The Minister acknowledges that the restrictions on the provision of dietetic services in CHO 7 and the increasing waiting lists for those waiting for a long time to access these services is a source of real concern for clients and their families. The Deputy highlighted this in the context of the case he outlined.

The HSE has advised that is working to address the challenges in the dietetics service in CHO 7, with the service prioritising referrals based on clinical need, staff availability and appropriate clinical governance to provide the best service possible. The HSE has further advised that there is a focus on increasing the numbers of service users seen across primary care therapy services, including dietetics, to drive improvements in waiting lists.

In 2023, waiting list action plan funding of €3.5 million was allocated to primary care therapy services which saw over 5,000 long-waiters removed from waiting lists nationwide. Ongoing initiatives include a validation of waiting lists to drive increased productivity and ensure effective management of therapists’ time and a focus on reducing the numbers of long waiters.

I also wish to advise the Deputy that the Minister for Health has, in recent weeks, approved the allocation of the 2024 new development posts relevant to the health budget and plans to recruit these 2,269 additional staff are in progress. This is welcome news. This will enable the HSE to set out its recruitment targets in each area for 2024 and will inform decisions at local level on the filling of available posts.

The Minister of State indicated that progress has been made, but this family will want to know when that happened. It is all part of a much wider issue of failing to fill key posts across the health system which is creating massive gaps in service provision. This is just one case of a baby who cannot get access to a dietician at this stage of their development but the lack of public nurses is also a problem. Back in April, I received a response from the HSE on the waiting list for children’s audiology services had more than doubled in two years.

In Tallaght alone, 5,856 children are waiting on audiology services, which is again down to a lack of staff in that service. The HSE itself identified the problem there as high demand levels and a number of staff vacancies which could not proceed due to the recruitment pause within its organisation. Again, it is ordinary families who are suffering. The big question is when we are going to fill these vacant posts in the health service and get patients like this baby the care and treatment they need. I raised this already with the Tánaiste regarding the audiology services. I never even got an answer on that. He said he would pass it on to the Minister. If there is anything the Minister of State can do within the service itself, it would be appreciated. I am particularly focused on this child but I am aware there are many children in the system at the moment and whose families are crying out for help. They do not know who to turn to. They are coming to us. We are not medical experts but they are looking for us to try to find a pathway through this mess that is currently there. I welcome, as the Minister of State mentioned, that plans to recruit 2,269 additional staff are in progress but people want to know when.

I thank the Deputy for his response. Certainly, the Minister fully acknowledges the frustration of those who are impacted by the restrictions in diatetic services in CHO, 7, and that of their families. He agrees that much more needs to be done to address the gaps in staffing and the waiting list for dieticians, in addition to other key primary care services. As the Deputy said, the new development posts are welcome news but the translation of that into those posts being filled, in a country of full employment where there are challenges filling posts, does not offer much comfort to that family. Certainly, if there is anything the Government can do to help in that specific case, the Deputy should bring it to the direct attention of the Minister as a possible way forward for this specific case. Again, as the Deputy said, there are other cases in audiology where there are other families as well and it is critically important that the HSE moves to try to get those posts filled as quickly as possible.

The Department of Health has also engaged with the HSE in advancing a programme of work to both develop short-term and longer-term strategies to address the need for more consistent management and a reduction in waiting lists for primary care therapies, with a national oversight group charged with progressing this work due to meet in July. Ultimately, it is expected that this work will ensure consistency of access to primary care therapies irrespective of location and in a much timelier manner than is currently the case. I hope that offers some comfort to the Deputy and to the family of the case he raised with me.

I thank the House for allowing me the opportunity to raise this issue. The Crann project in Ballincollig in County Cork is a fantastic innovation that has been developed over the last number of years. The board of directors and the team there have developed fantastic facilities for people with disabilities, therapeutic facilities for rehabilitation and indeed play therapy. They are also providing innovative training centres for different challenges that people with disabilities have, whether they are disabilities that are acquired or those that are there from birth. They have developed this facility. Padraig Mallon heads up the team there. He is a fantastic innovator and an extremely capable guy. The foundation of it was due to Kate Jarvey who is a philanthropist and has done great work in providing the centre with the resources to get it up and running.

It has been up and running and, of course, the services have been provided. In essence, the services, which should be provided by the State, are being provided there on behalf of the State. Regarding the core funding, there has been very innovative meetings between the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and other politicians as well. They have been in awe at what has been delivered and developed at the Crann Centre in Ballincollig.

I have to raise the issue about core funding because essentially if this centre does not get €1.2 million in annual core funding to deliver the services it is providing, it will not be able to operate because it will go into a deficit situation. The centre is raising money, looking at fundraising and is reaching into other pots of money that are available to it. That should not be the case because it is the State's services the centre is providing. It has continence training and is one of the only places outside of Dublin that is doing this. This is for SNAs or people who are working in all types of settings in the State. The issue here is that core funding has been agreed to a certain level but the unmistakable fact is that there is €1.2 million needed in core funding annually to ensure the Crann Centre can operate and can provide the services it is currently providing. If there is any dilution of that, there will be tapering back of the service the centre is providing. The playground there is second to none for kids and young people with disabilities. The centre developed that itself. The staff have developed things in very innovative ways. They think outside the box. They look at the challenges there. If we were depending on the State to have these innovative services, it would not be happening.

We are almost on the brink of the second half of 2024 and we are still negotiating for the budget for 2024. The year 2024 starts on 1 January not on 1 July and it is reprehensible that the HSE does not have the budget ironed out at this stage. The fundamental point is that the basic funding that is needed to run the Crann Centre and to provide the services it is providing currently is €1.2 million and that is what I asking the HSE and the Minister of State about today.

Again, I am taking this question on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this really important Topical Issue for discussion. The Crann Centre was established in 2014 and is a registered charity based in Ovens, County Cork. It supports children, adults and families living with a neuro-physical disability. It commenced service provision in 2019 and supports people with spina bifida, hydrocephalus, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, childhood stroke or spinal cord injury.

Crann’s services enable better health and well-being for adults and children with neuro-physical disabilities, and their families, empowering them to participate in work, education or social activities in their community and leading to an improved quality of life. Crann provides tangible and much-needed services to its clients, helping them to overcome challenges relating to physical and psychological health, and social capital, but it also creates significant value through its person-centred approach and a staff who truly care about their clients and take time out of their working day to engage with, and support them, even outside of a service appointment. That was well articulated by Deputy Moynihan as well.

Following on from the visit by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to the centre in June 2023, a business case by the organisation was submitted in relation to the funding for its service for 2024 and 2025, which Cork Kerry Community Healthcare submitted to the national disability office for consideration in the 2024 Estimates process. In the 2024 budget allocation to the HSE, as outlined in the 2024 HSE service plan, a total of €3 million was ring-fenced for eight voluntary organisations considered for targeted provision of services for children, based on various business case submissions. The Crann Centre was included in this budget allocation and received €400,000 in 2024. In addition to the recurring €400,000, the Crann Centre also received €170,000 towards its continence clinic bringing the total funds for 2024 to €570,000.

I thank the Deputy for joining the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and her officials at a meeting with management from the Crann Centre this week. This meeting discussed the supports necessary to sustain the valuable work of the Crann Centre into the future. The Minister of State will ensure her officials and HSE officials engage with the Crann Centre ahead of the 2025 Estimates process. Currently, we are awaiting a decision on the allocation of the strengthening children’s disability services grant scheme for 2024 for the Crann Centre, which may see additional funding allocated to the service. Going forward, the Department is committed to continuing to work with the Crann Centre to help it continue to provide the essential and valuable supports it provides to the community.

Yes, I did attend the meeting. In the first instance, I commend what the section 39 or charitable organisations are doing throughout the country in providing services on behalf of the State. This is one of the charity organisations that is providing services which are not being provided by the State but should be provided by the State. The State is failing to ensure that money is provided up-front for these vital services.

Many families and people with acquired injuries are using the Crann Centre in Ballincollig. They are in awe of what has been achieved there and how the team there is working to try to make sure that the lives of people with disabilities are better. As public representatives, we should always acknowledge the work that is being done by the section 39 organisations and their teams which are led by very good innovative people who are looking at new ways of providing services. They see the shortcomings in the services that are being provided by the State. We had a meeting this week on it.

I wish to make two points in my closing remarks. Ongoing funding of nothing less than €1.2 million is needed to ensure that the Crann Centre can continue the rehabilitation services it is providing, not just for County Cork, but for the wider Munster region. Some families are driving two and a half or three hours to the Crann Centre for maybe an hour's play therapy. It is important that we acknowledge that. When will the children's disability service grants for 2024 be announced? They are for 2024. This weekend we are moving into the second half of 2024. I ask the Minister of State to take that back. We need those grants to be announced as a matter of urgency because that money is vitally needed not just for the Crann Centre but for centres which are providing services for children with disabilities throughout the State.

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy on the section 39 providers right across the country. They provide invaluable services which are not always met by the State but the State supports them to do that. They are really valuable partners to the State on that. I reiterate the commitment of the Department and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to working with the Crann Centre to continue to aid it in providing valuable support to the community, families and children. I think her commitment was given at the meeting with Crann Centre this week. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has been a really wonderful Minister of State with responsibility for disability. She is very proactive and she will use all efforts at her disposal to try to help in whatever way she can.

I will not anticipate the budgetary process but the request has been made and it is noted. I think the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will bring that as part of the package of what she is looking for through the budgetary process. The funding in 2024 has been substantial, with €570,000 from the HSE and I think €400,000 of that is recurring funding so it is not insignificant. I appreciate that running centres that provide such a complex range of services for people makes their overheads and the costs incurred all the more challenging on a yearly basis. I will take the Deputy's comments back to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. We await the ongoing process from the budget.

I am raising the very important issue of funding for youth services across Laois and Offaly. Funding for youth services comes through the local education and training board. Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board has not been receiving its fair share of it. Laois-Offaly has the highest percentage of young people aged between ten and 24 years of age. The 2022 census verified this. Based on what I see locally, if a census were taken today, two years later, it would show that it has increased further. Laois and Offaly ETB has consistently received the lowest level of youth services funding compared with the other 15 ETBs. The total funding for Laois-Offaly ETB youth services in 2021 was €427,000, almost €300,000 less than the second lowest region which received €706,000. At the time this equated to €13.68 per person aged between ten and 24. That is a very small amount of money and considerably less than the average in that year, which was €43.84 across the 16 education and training boards in the State.

It has not stopped at that because last year, in 2023, the level of funding per young person between the ages of ten and 24 in Laois-Offaly was €15.82. Those figures can be tracked. The figures also show that in the two years since 2022, Laois-Offaly has had the lowest number of special youth projects under the UBU scheme, with four in total in Laois-Offaly, two in each county. That can be compared with other counties which had seven or eight and in some counties far more than that. Laois-Offaly has had much less funding and far fewer funded projects.

The population of Laois-Offaly has increased dramatically, as it has across the State. Between 2002 and 2022, there was an almost 60,000 increase in population in the two counties. The population in Laois in particular shows a sharp upward line on the graph. The last census in Laois showed that there are almost 92,000 people and that has increased dramatically in the last two years. The same is true in Offaly, which had a 6.6% increase in population. The increase in Laois was 8.5%. The population is increasing and with all those young families, there is an increase in the young population. I cannot understand why the level of funding given by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to the Laois and Offaly ETB region is less per head of population than anywhere else in the country, particularly per head of youth population.

We have a very progressive and active ETB. I used to be on its forerunner, the old VEC in Laois and Offaly, which did good work. The ETB is providing a huge number of services right across the educational range. What is happening and why is this? What will the Minister do about it?

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an cheist seo. I also recognise the important work that youth organisations and ETBs do for our young people across the country. It is vital.

The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, is committed to supporting the delivery and development of youth work services and opportunities for young people throughout the country. In 2024, the Government is investing €78 million in this sector, which represents a 26% increase in the budget since 2020. A total of over €800,000 is being allocated to Laois and Offaly ETB this year to support the provision of youth services in the area. Over €420,000 is being allocated under the UBU scheme. This funding is directed at young people who are marginalised, disadvantaged or vulnerable. It is allocated on the basis of an area needs analysis carried out by the ETB. This ensures that funding is directed to where it is most needed.

An additional €385,000 has been allocated to Laois and Offaly ETB to support youth services in 2024 under a number of funding schemes, including €12,000 under the resilience and effectiveness scheme 2024. This enables youth organisations to build capacity and respond to emerging needs. There is €36,000 under the new targeted youth employability support initiative in 2024. This funding helps young people to engage in progression pathways leading to education, training and employment opportunities. There is €75,000 under the migrant integration fund, to support the integration of young Ukrainians into youth services. There is €50,000 under the minor grant scheme, for additional programme-related costs associated with the provision of universal youth work supports for all young people, and €82,000 has been made available to support clubs in Laois and Offaly under the local youth club grant scheme.

In addition, €130,000 has been allocated to Laois and Offaly ETB under the ETB youth grant to support the ETB in carrying out its functions relating to the administration of the Department’s funding and its role in co-ordinating and supporting youth services.

In addition to funding targeted youth services administered by the ETB network, the Department provides funding to national youth organisations who provide volunteer-led youth services nationwide. Many of these organisations are active in counties Laois and Offaly, including 23 Foróige youth clubs and 11 scout troops. The Department recognises the important work of Laois and Offaly ETB as a key partner in the delivery of crucial youth funding schemes. The Minister's officials work closely with all 16 ETBs throughout the country, which are responsible at local level for supporting the provision, co-ordination, administration and assessment of youth work in their areas to ensure that the needs of young people continue to be met.

On the specific disparity in Laois and Offaly referenced by the Deputy in terms of lower levels of funding, the allocation of funding to Laois ETB under the UBU is based on funding the ETB received under previous youth services funding schemes administered by the Department including SPY and YPSF 1 and YPSF 2. The UBU services are targeted at marginalised, vulnerable and deprived young people, with areas of greater needs receiving the most. There is therefore no average per capita funding for UBU services. That might go some way to explaining it, although it is not satisfactory. Some ETBs were more successful in attracting grants under previous funding schemes and this has resulted in a wide disparity in funding of youth services. In 2022, for example, the City of Dublin ETB youth services received €160 for every young person aged between ten and 24 in the Dublin city local authority area while Louth and Meath ETB received €15.50. That is a major disparity in per capita funding for young people. I acknowledge the wide range of services provided not just by the ETBs but by Foróige and other youth organisations throughout the constituency.

The Minister of State listed off a lot of sums for once-off funding that are relatively modest. The particular funding stream that goes to ETBs for distribution in Laois - he also referred to Louth - is far lower. It is just above €15 per head of youth population in 2023. I accept and understand that there are parts of Dublin with the highest needs, but a gap of 1,000% needs to be looked at. The Minister of State also stated that what was received in previous years is taken into account. That is a bit like trying to get going from the lowest start with a handicap. This needs to be looked at. I remind him, without complaining or putting on the poor mouth, that there are parts of Laois and Offaly with high levels of deprivation. There is a huge migrant population. There are schools in Portlaoise town with 800 or 900 pupils, the majority of whom have non-Irish parents. They are foreign nationals. There is nothing wrong with that, but I am making the point that this gives rose to many challenges in trying to provide youth services locally. I ask that in the annual allocation of core funding to the ETBs, another look be taken at Laois and Offaly. Will the Minister of State communicate that to his party colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman? Will the officials look at that again? It is stubbornly low in comparison with other counties and needs to be reviewed.

There is a disparity between the €160 for every young person in Dublin city and then €15.50 in Louth and Meath. The average works out at approximately €51.60 per young person, but I do not think putting a price on every young person is the issue. It is being able to provide as wide a range of services. Deprivation is deprivation be it in inner-city Dublin or in rural parts of the country in Laois and Offaly. The issues might be different, but many are the same in terms of child poverty and access to services and education for Travellers and migrants in particular. During his tenure, the Minister has consistently worked hard to try to ensure the trajectory has been an upward one over four budgets. I have no doubt that he will argue his corner for budget 2025 as well. I am more than happy to take back the specific request about Laois and Offaly ETB. There are other areas of funding around LECPs, the local development companies that do work with migrants, Travellers and local authorities. There is a broad coalition of organisations that work with and for young people and their families. This in particular is a specific issue the Deputy has raised about the ETBs and the Minister will not be found wanting in trying to maximise the funding for youth work across the country.