THE Government has published the first Bill in the history of the State to give a statutory basis to the provision, co-ordination and evaluation of the State's youth services.
Presenting the Youth Work Bill in Dublin yesterday, the Minister of State for Education with special responsibility for youth affairs, Mr Bernard Allen, said it would lead to the regionalisation of youth work services.
Until now their administration had been very centralised in the Department, he went on. The new Bill envisaged that the allocation of resources and planning of programmes would be done by youth work committees attached to the proposed new regional education boards.
A National Youth Work Advisory Committee - containing one person representing the youth organisations, plus representatives from the Departments of Education, Health and Justice and FAS would be set up to oversee and integrate the youth services, Mr Allen said.
He stressed that the Bill would not lead to "the establishment of any kind of rigid State youth service". He did not want to go down the road of the UK where "the professionals have taken over and the volunteers are relegated to the sidelines".
He wanted to see "professionally trained volunteers having a huge input into decision-making in their areas."
Mr Allen rejected charges by the Union of Students in Ireland that the Government had neglected youth affairs in favour of sport. He said the Department of Education spent just over £13 million this year on youth affairs and around £7 million on sport, plus £6 million on capital projects in both areas. However, he noted that all Government departments spent around £150 million on sport, largely from the National Lottery.
The National Youth Council of Ireland, the umbrella body for some 45 youth organisations, welcomed the Bill.