Issue 34: November 2001 - Youth Work Ireland

The Minister of State Mr Wil lie O'Dea has co mmitted to see theproposed Youth Work Bill written into law this side of Christmas.Such a development would be a timely and appropri ate reward for allthose who have worked significantly hard to ensure that youth work ,in its many forms, is given due regard, due respect and ultimatelydue resources.It behoves the Minister to ensure, notwithstanding the passing of theBill into law, that the present discussion of cutbacks does not affectthe emerging potential of youth work both in the light of the legislationbecoming law and more importantly, the co nsensus reflected withinthe drafting of a National Yo uth Work Development Plan. TheProgramme for Prosperity and Fairness gave a written commitmentto ensure the National Yo uth Work Development Pla n wo uld beresourced . This opportunity is a fu rther occasion when the Ministerca n fulfi l! his co mmitments to the sector. Costings fo r theDevelopment Plan, which will ultimately try to establish us on a newfooting (not merely catch-u p in snail like fashion) wil l requiresignificant resources. Priorities will have to be set with incrementalsteps fol lowing , thus securing a stronger delivery of youth servicesthroughout the co untry over the next five years.A clear priority within the implementation of the National Yo uth WorkDevelopment Plan 2002-2006 should be a Fu nding Review.Objective benchmark funding standards must be agreed which willsee sufficient and competitive fi nancing of youth work delivery acrossall Government Departments as quickly as possible. Within th isreview the most crucial issue is the urgent need to establishcomparable salaries for staff within the sector that are transparentlyfu nded by the Yo uth Affairs Sectio n of the Department of Educationand Science. Where excellent experience and expertise has beendeveloped among current staff, this cannot co ntinue to be lost tobetter paid jobs in other sectors. People do move on but it is a pitifulindictment of the sector that in many cases 'moving on' is to betterpaid jobs when the hearts of those leaving would prefer to beresourced adequately and fairly within work that they themselves arehugely committed to and yet. from an economic point of view, theyca nnot continue to accept.Strong negotiation and representation of youth work shou ld havealready taken place in anticipation of implementing the Youth WorkBi ll and the Development Plan 2002-2006. We will know where westand and what is possible shortly when the allocations withi n theBook of Estimates are presented in detail. To announce theimplementation of the Plan with a Funding Review as the first step (inorder to infl uence preparation for next year's Estimates process) and,to provide an annual increase in line with the infrastructural costs,particularly, co mpetitive sa laries, will be a hu ge step forward.Hopefully we are nearly there!Irish YouthWork Scene•