Youth project in funding plea

A NORTHSIDE facility for young people said it is facing the threat of closure due to cutbacks in Government funding.

Kilbarrack Youth Project members and volunteers recently staged a protest outside the Dail to highlight their case.

The project’s management is pleading with Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald, to reverse the cuts, which has seen funding reduced since the economic downturn.

Cathleen O’Neill, manager of Kilbarrack Community Development Project (CDP) and secretary of the youth project, said they were now at breaking point.

“We have two options: to close or drastically reduce the services we offer,

? Ms O’Neill told Northside People.

“We are being cut year after year. Despite cutting our cloth to measure, there is simply no more cloth to cut.

?

Kilbarrack Youth Project received

?¬112,000 for 2014 but according to Ms O’Neill, it is not enough for the 70-plus people who use the service.

“All we need is around

?¬15,000,

? she said.

“It’s not a huge sum of money to ask for, for a project that’s making a real and positive difference in the community.

?

Ms O’Neill warned of the implications for the area if the project did have to close or drastically reduce the range of services it offers.

“It will increase the risk of teenagers mixing with the wrong crowd and becoming disenfranchised,

? she stated.

“This youth project has been going for 20 years.

“There are people coming to us now that would be brothers and sisters of those who benefited from the service in the past and they expect it to be there for them.

“Our staff, volunteers, the board and the kids are amazing but we can no longer absorb these cuts.

“We have great support from the community for what we are trying to achieve but at the end of the day, it’s the kids who are losing out.

?

In a statement to Northside People, Minister Fitzgerald said she was aware of the challenges the budgetary constraints raise for youth services throughout the country and its impact on Kilbarrack Youth Project.

“Kilbarrack Youth Project receives funding from the Department under the Young People’s Facilities and Services Fund,

? she stated.

“In 2014, Kilbarrack Youth Project will receive an allocation of over

?¬112,000.

“Since 2011, this funding has been reduced by approximately

?¬5,500 or only 4.7 per cent.

“However, in the same four-year period, additional funding amounting to

?¬22,500 has been provided to the project to assist it at particular times.

?

Minister Fitzgerald said the City of Dublin Youth Service Board (CDYSB) administers funding to projects in the Dublin area, including Kilbarrack Youth Project, on behalf of the Department.

“Officials of my Department are in contact with CDYSB about the project,

? she added.

“The CDYSB is continuing to work with Kilbarrack Youth Project to assist the project with its budget management and the provision of services to meet young people’s needs in the locality and is in close contact with officials of the Department about developments.

?

Donaghmede ward councillor Micheal Mac Donncha (SF), who attended the protest with Sinn Féin Senator and Youth Affairs spokesperson, Kathryn Reilly, has demanded that Minister Fitzgerald

“saves Kilbarrack Youth Project from closure

?.

“We are calling for the cuts to be reversed so this and other vital projects can continue in areas of social and educational disadvantage,

? he said.

Kilbarrack Youth Project has been a huge success over the last two decades providing a wide range of amenities and a social outlet for young people.

The Project also provides a number of youth clubs where young people can meet on a voluntary basis to address their own social, recreational, developmental and informal educational needs.

Activities include group discussions, healthy eating, sexual health and other courses in topics that are of interest to them and of relevance to their lives.

Other activities include arts and crafts, dance, pool, table tennis, free internet access and indoor sports amongst others.

Mid-term breaks and summer programmes include filmmaking, water sports, hill walking, horse riding, camping trips, go-karting, paintballing and participation in sports competitions.

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