WORK to support the various and changing needs of young people in Cork city and county has been boosted by increased government funding for youth services which will continue to target and deliver programmes and interventions in urban and rural communities.

Funding of over €3.8m has been allocated to youth projects across Cork for 2021 which will target needs and respond to challenges being faced by age groups from 10-24.
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman announced the funding as part of a national €42m investment in the sector which represents an increased investment on last year.

Funding in Cork is stretched across 31 organisations ranging from national service providers Foróige and YMCA to Cloyne Diocesan Youth Services (CDYS) and independent projects aiming to support youth impacted by life development issues, homelessness, addiction and factors affecting their mental health.

Denis Leamy, CE of Cork Education and Training Board, which acts as the regional governance funding agent for the DCDEIY, said that the announcement of funding allocation to youth projects across Cork is a very welcome one.  “These youth projects are vital to ensure the youth of Cork continue to engage and the Cork ETB Youth Services team have worked tirelessly to ensure service delivery, especially in these challenging times.  These projects will support the youth of Cork in overcoming any challenges they may face,” he said.

Cork is one of the largest ETBs in the country and allocates funding to projects across a large catchment from Beara and Clonakilty in West Cork to Mitchelstown. The bulk of the funding allocated is to the newly branded UBU – Your Place, Your Place scheme which replaced the old Special Projects for Youth and other initiatives.
UBU projects are located throughout the city and county with funding underpinned by regular updating of youth population data and trends as well as assemblage of local knowledge and information.

Senior Youth Officer at Cork ETB, Mick Finn, said the funding allocations provide a ‘ringing endorsement’ to the work being done at the frontline and underline the importance of youth services in the country.

Youth organisations in Cork are continuing to deliver services in the prevailing difficult Covid-19 conditions and after many years of cutbacks going back less than 10 years, it is heartening to see increased budgets for 2021 at a time when finances are under strain,” he said. “A lot of work went into the configuration of the new UBU scheme, including area profiling to inform service requirements, and this is aimed to ensure that the funding will hit the mark by reach its targeted cohort. The challenge now will be to try and ensure that funding is maintained into the future and that areas without youth services currently are prioritised in any new schemes.

Among the projects funded in Cork are Foróige projects in Knocknaheeny, Mahon, Ballyphehane, Glanmire, Carrigaline and Bishopstown, while CDYS supports young people in Mallow, Midleton, Carrigtwohill, Fermoy and Mitchelstown. Independent projects also operate throughout the city including the Simon Youth Homeless Service, Wellsprings and Good Shepherd services, while community-based project operates in Cobh and Churchfield.

All of these funded youth services operate in tandem with other providers to ensure the young people who most need supports get them. Much of the work goes unheralded but the organisations are doing fantastic work at a time when pressures and anxieties are higher than ever before for the youth population.

Cork ETB also administers funding to local youth clubs each year with an allocation of almost €250,000 earmarked for later in 2021, while other occasional grant schemes have included equipment and IT grants, Covid supports and assistance with bolstering inclusion for marginalised groups and communities.

About Cork ETB:

Cork Education and Training Board was established under the Education and Training Boards Act, 2013 and is responsible and accountable for the proper direction and control of its functions in the Cork City and Cork County Councils’ local authority areas. Cork ETB plans, provides, supports and co-ordinates education, training and youth services in Cork which are recognised internationally as a model of excellence.

Cork ETB is a driving force of education and training in Cork, providing high quality services which are innovative, responsive and inclusive. Through Cork ETB there is a pathway for every learner.

Cork ETB’s target clients are learners in our schools, colleges, training centres and community settings, applicants under the various learner support schemes administered directly by Cork ETB, Youth Service Providers, Community Education and Training Groups, Voluntary Community Organisations and Communities throughout the City and County.

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