Departmental Funding Seanad Éireann — 2026-10-01 ============================================================ Evanne Ní Chuilinn (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht a bheith i Seanad Éireann inniu chun infheistíocht i seirbhísí don aos óg a phlé liom. I raise the urgent need for additional investment in youth services in Dublin's south-west inner city, SWIC. Securing greater investment for this area is one of my key priorities. Over recent months, I have engaged with local community organisations, residents, schools, sports clubs and other stakeholders about their vision for the future of the south-west inner city. One issue comes up time and again, which is the need for greater investment in youth work and recreational opportunities for young people. There are many excellent youth work providers working in the SWIC, but today I will highlight what appears to a be a significant disparity in youth work funding, particularly in relation to the Solas Project and its Liberate youth work team. Before turning to the Solas Project specifically, it is important that we set out the context of all of this. Earlier this year, Dr. Barra Roantree published an independent socioeconomic analysis of the south-west inner city. The findings were stark. The crime rate is more than twice the national average. Third level progression rates are less than half the national average. The rate of single-parent families is twice the national average. Only two of Dublin City Council's 248 public pitches are located in the south-west inner city. Just 22% of primary school pupils and 8% of secondary school pupils meet the national physical activity guidelines. Most strikingly, half of those living in a deprived area of Dublin's inner city live in the south-west inner city, despite the area accounting for only a quarter of the inner city population. They are not just statistics; they reflect the daily reality facing many young people in the SWIC and demonstrate the need for a co-ordinated package of supports across youth services, education, sport, health and justice. Against that backdrop, organisations such as the Solas Project play a vital role. The Liberate youth work team operates in a catchment area with a youth population of more than 4,100 people between the ages of ten and 24. According to the Pobal deprivation index, four of the eight most disadvantaged small areas in Dublin's inner city are located within that catchment area, yet Liberate is currently operating at around 30% above its funded capacity. It works directly with 115 young people, while a further 135 remain on a waiting list. Among those waiting are 16 young people at risk of early school-leaving, 25 at risk of involvement in crime, drug dealing and antisocial behaviour and six who are actively being groomed into criminal activity. Many fall into what Dublin city youth services define as target 4 group, that is, young people who are hardest to reach and most at risk of involvement in gang-related activity, crime and antisocial behaviour. These young people cannot afford to wait until they reach crisis point before supports become available. Early intervention is exactly what youth work is supposed to provide. In 2024, the Solas Project worked with more than 250 young people. However, funding constraints have forced the organisation to reduce aspects of its service to maintain the quality of support it provides. As a result, a service operating in one of the most disadvantaged communities in the State cannot meet the demand that exists on its doorstep. What makes this particularly frustrating is that the need is so clearly evidenced. I want to be clear - it is not about setting one youth work group against another. I would welcome clarification on the criteria used to allocate youth work funding and how disparities such as this can arise. I hope that next week's budget will deliver increased investment in youth services across the country, particularly for communities such as the south-west inner city. We have seen what happens when young people do not have somewhere to go to and do not have those supports locally. We need to positively discriminate against youth work services like the Solas Project and the Liberate team in the south-west inner city. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-10-01/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:01:00+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-10-01