Calls for funding to be reinstated for staff members of youth service

Councillors have written to the Minister for Justice to request that funding be reinstated for staff members of a youth service in Ballyfermot.

Local councillors from Ballyfermot and the surrounding areas have written to Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan TD to request that funding for two staff positions at Ballyfermot Youth Service be reinstated.

The council recently stepped in to fund the psychotherapist position at the local youth service, but they are unable to provide funding for two outstanding positions, all of which had previously been funded by the Department of Justice.

Councillor Vincent Jackson, who chairs Ballyfermot Youth Service, welcomed the move from the local authority and noted how important the role of those who carry out the youth work is to the community.

Cllr Jackson said: “They did fund the psychotherapist position and have agreed to fund that for the next couple of years, which is a really, really important service.

“We’ve had, over the last year, two young people whose lives have ended in very tragic circumstances, that’s all I’d say without going into the specifics of it.

“So, we see first-hand the trauma that’s out there in the wider community.”

The Ballyfermot councillor acknowledged Dublin City Council’s move to ensure that that position has funding for the next three years.

He also noted that the money used to fund the positions in the past came from “dormant accounts.”

Councillor Daithí Doolan noted that the skate park in Ballyfermot, where the youth service often operate from, has been “hugely successful.”

Cllr Doolan said: “[It] has been hugely successful in allowing a number of young people have access to upskilling themselves around skateboards, bicycles, the workshop and a safe space where they can meet.

“We had the Minister for Justice out there the year before last announcing a further investment in the park.

“Well, unfortunately, that further investment turned out to be only a pilot scheme for employing people to work in the skateboard park.”

He described the move by the Department not to fund the positions further as “a very short-term investment” in the local community and called on the council to push them to provide longer-term funding to help growth in the area.

The Ballyfermot-Drimnagh councillor commended the work of the staff of Ballyfermot Youth Service and noted how they go above and beyond for the community.

“It’s not just about the bricks and mortar, the four walls and a roof that’s in that centre, it’s about the work that goes on engaging with young people…

“…Both in the skateboard park but then involving themselves in other services in the area as well and that’s a tribute to the staff of Ballyfermot Youth Service as well as those employed by the Department of Justice.

“Unfortunately, the Department have said they’re not going to fund it anymore.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.