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 Young People Protest Outside Leinster House to Warn Government Against Making Any Further Cuts to Youth Services
Young People from The Base Ballyfermot say: “Don’t Skip our Future - Is it not worth €12 a week?”
A number of young people staged a protest outside the Dail today to warn the Government that any further cuts in funding for youth services will threaten their futures and also seriously damage local communities.
The young people posed standing in rubbish skips while dressed in costumes representing some of the future careers they aim towards.
They said they want to send a clear message to Government which is: “Don’t Skip Our Future. - Don't Put Young People on the Scrapheap."
The young people taking part in event were part of the Dublin Focus on Youth Campaign which is a coalition of nearly 70 youth services that receive funding from the City of Youth Service Board (CDYSB). This included young people from the The Base Ballyfermot. Click here for full story  focus_on_dublin_youth 687.04 Kb or click read more to continue reading
The coalition was staging a Youth Work Day of Action which up to 300 young people, parents and youth & community workers took part in around the city.
Some of the young people at the Dail protest also posed the question at the event: “Is my future not worth €12 a week?” The total CDYSB budget for youth projects and services and backup support was less than €20 million in 2008.
As nearly 34,000 young people availed of the projects and services in 2008 this means it cost less than €12 per young person per week which is great value for money.
Additionally a range of voluntary youth clubs & groups also carried out great work with just under 13,000 young people in 2008.
Dublin Focus on Youth has warned that a round of funding cuts have already seriously hit services putting some at risk of having to shut down.
Some services have had to cut frontline services leaving many young people disadvantaged without the vital support they need to build personal skills, maintain education and contribute to their local community.
Amel Yacef from the Base Youth Centre said: “CDYSB funded projects/services in Dublin serve the needs of young people right across the community.”
“Some of these young people live in disadvantaged areas which are already struggling to deal with problems like key high unemployment, early school leaving, high levels of substance misuse and low participation rates in higher education. The projects provide invaluable services in the local areas dealing with many of these problems”
She added: "Cutbacks will severely affect our ability to work with the most at-risk young people in our local area. This is not unique to our area- all across Dublin, youth projects will have to scale back services . These cuts will only hit the most vulnerable and most marginalised people in our society. “
The Dublin Focus On Youth Campaign maintains that it is essential to protect, sustain and build on the investment that the Government has made in youth work over the last number of years to ensure these vital supports and services are maintained at the very time they are needed more than ever by young people across Dublin and nationwide.
The campaign also warned that marginalised and vulnerable young people are most at risk during the recession. Campaign members stressed that the frontline services provided by its projects are vital to deliver essential programmes at a time when many young people have little or no hope of employment at home or abroad.
ENDS
Editors Notes:
Youth work provides vulnerable young people with professional frontline services to ensure that they have alternatives to the juvenile detention system, long term unemployment or drug misuse. The youth work sector also promotes psychological and emotional well being which supports the work and aims of the mental health services.
CDYSB funded projects are a well developed network embedded in local communities who are uniquely positioned offering professional frontline services and support to thousands of very vulnerable young people in society.
Any cuts in funding to these services will not actually save money for the Exchequer but will in fact cause more expense as the consequences of cuts in services for young people would be increased unemployment, prison, addiction and mental health problems - all of which have a considerable cost to the State.
For example: It costs approximately €420,000 per year per child for residential care, it costs €270,000 per year to keep a prisoner in Portlaoise and young offenders at St. Patrick’s Institute for Young Offenders cost the Sate €106,800 per year per individual. In 2006 mental health problems cost the State €3 billion, drug rehabilitation cost the State between €621 and €2733 per person per week.
ENDS
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