A wide-ranging programme to promote youth work, support volunteers in the sector and protect young people was published yesterday by the Government.
Only a fraction of the funding required to implement the five-year plan, however, has been made available. The funding available in the first year is just one-third of 1 per cent of the overall cost estimate.
The plan, announced by the Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Ms Síle de Valera, identifies significant gaps in the provision of services to young people.
As a priority action, it calls for the establishment of a body to validate youth work standards and develop a framework for accreditation and certification of those working in the sector.
Such a body was proposed almost 20 years ago in the Costello Report, the last major study of youth work services, but was never established.
The new plan also calls for a charter of rights for youth work volunteers, and the setting up of a national development unit for youth work with adequate resources and expertise.
Ms de Valera admitted, however, that the resources required to implement the five-year programme are not readily available.
The entire plan would cost an estimated €35 million, she said, but only €120,000 had been provided for the first year, 2003.
This would enable her to implement two of its recommendations: the establishment of a child protection training programme and the appointment of a national assessor of youth work.
None of the many other recommendations in the plan would be implemented this year, she said. "I would love to have been in a position to implement more in the coming year, but I will have to fight for more resources."
She said she was committed to implementing the plan over the five years.
The programme, titled the "National Youth Work Development Plan 2003 to 2007", was drawn up by the National Youth Advisory Committee following consultations with interested groups.
It highlights deficiencies in current services such as geographical imbalances and a declining number of both adult and young volunteers prepared to participate in the sector.
A section of the plan dealing with standards in youth work and the protection of young people says it is no longer satisfactory that anyone, regardless of background or aptitude, can describe himself or herself as a "youth worker". The need for a validation body, it says, is even greater now than when the Costello Report was published in 1984.
Ms de Valera, however, rejected a suggestion that certification should be made compulsory for people involved in the provision of youth services.
She had no doubt that youth organisations would co-operate with a validation body, as the report reflected the views of those working in the sector.
Youth work, says the report, primarily involves education of young people in non-formal settings. It includes recreational, cultural, sporting, artistic, welfare and other activities.
