Major financial boost for youth services in Waterford

Youth services in Dungarvan and West Waterford are to benefit from significant funding to alleviate difficulties accessing services in that region, it has been confirmed.
 
The funding was announced today by Minister for Children, Equality, Integration, Disability & Youth, Roderic O’Gorman.
 
Minister O’Gorman confirmed that the selection process for eight new UBU Your PlaceYour Service youth services has commenced for 2022.
 
Each new service will be allocated funding of €120,000 per annum initially, from a total allocation of just over €1m. The new UBU Your Place Your Space selected areas for 2022 are: Donegal, Cavan, Carlow, Sligo, Tipperary, Kerry, Clare and Waterford.
 
The Education and Training Boards in each of the eight selected areas have now completed a local needs assessment stage to inform the establishment of the new services, and all eight ETBs have issued a call for service to recruit a preferred service provider.

With the eight additional services set up in 2021, this brings the total full year investment for 16 new youth services to some €2 million.
 
The funding in Waterford is to be directed to the provision of youth services in Dungarvan and West Waterford.

 
The funding was described as "very welcome news for young people in West Waterford," by Green Party TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh.

"I’ve been engaging directly with Minister O’Gorman on this, outlining the need that exists in Dungarvan and its hinterland. He has also met with me a number of child and youth services providers, including representatives from Barnardos, who described the difficulties in accessing services of this kind in the west of the county.

"Asking young people to travel up to an hour to either Waterford or Cork was unacceptable, so I’m very pleased to see WWETB being included in this round of funding, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said.
 
Minister O’Gorman commented: “I was delighted to secure funding for a much-needed increase in targeted youth services. These are long term investments into communities supported by clear needs analysis and backed by the local ETB. The introduction of UBU Your Place Your Space has given us a coherent mechanism to create new youth services where they are needed across the country. We can be assured that this investment will directly benefit the young people in their communities.”