New ‘map of youth services’ will detail resources for children
Education minister Hildegarde Naughton will update her Cabinet colleagues on the launch of a map of youth services. Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall
A new “map of youth services” informing children and parents about local services will be launched this week under plans to be discussed by Cabinet on Wednesday.
Ministers will gather in Government Buildings for the Cabinet’s first full meeting since breaking for the summer recess.
An incorporeal meeting was held last week to sign off on the continuation of fuel excise cuts.
At the meeting on Wednesday afternoon, education minister Hildegarde Naughton will update colleagues on the launch of a map of youth services. It is the first time such a platform has been developed.
It will show parents and young people a range of services, including youth clubs, scouts, Irish language youth clubs, and ‘UBU Your Place Your Space’ clubs funded by the Government on an interactive map that can be used across phones, tablets, and computers.
It will provide contact details for the club, with service providers also able to update and add services.
The project has been developed with younger people as part of the Opportunities for Youth strategy.
Elsewhere, higher education minister James Lawless will seek approval for legislation to expand the remit of the Grangegorman Development Agency.
The agency was established in 2005 to redevelop the former St Brendan’s Hospital site in North Dublin to host the Technological University Dublin campus.
Mr Lawless will ask ministers to approve legislation that will allow the Grangegorman Development Agency deliver major public infrastructure projects beyond the Grangegorman campus.
Sources argued that the agency has a “proven track record” in “delivering one of Ireland’s most significant urban regeneration projects” and expanding its remit will “allow the State to deploy its expertise to other priority capital programmes”.
Under the changes, it is expected that the development agency will support delivery of the Further Education and Training College Major Capital Programme, which is expected to see approximately €800m invested over the next decade.
Mr Lawless is also understood to be seeking to expand the State’s in-house project delivery capacity, so that reliance on external consultants can be reduced and the delivery of education and public infrastructure projects can be sped up.
A recent independent review of the agency concluded that it is a “high-performing organisation” with “strong governance”, sources said.
It also suggested that “expansion of its remit” was the “best option to maximise its expertise and long-term value to the State”.
The proposal is understood to have received broad support from stakeholders across the education, health, local government, and business sectors, who are said to “see it as a practical way to deliver infrastructure faster while making better use of existing public sector capability”.
Subject to approval by the Government, the reforms would create a specialist national project delivery resource under Mr Lawless’s remit, helping to deliver major capital projects more efficiently while maintaining the agency’s existing responsibilities at Grangegorman.
The Cabinet meeting on Wednesday afternoon has a short agenda, with fewer than a dozen items up for discussion by ministers.
- Louise Burne, Political Correspondent
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
