Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Youth Work Ireland has been trying to address this. The ETB has been trying to do it. Laois and Offaly ETB is progressive and active. In the past ten years, it has dramatically expanded the number of areas it covers. It administers the funding and this is causing a problem locally in terms of funding projects. The funding is critical for Youth Work Ireland, Foróige and local clubs. I do not want to make a parochial complaint, but these figures have been raised in a number of different forums. Youth Work Ireland has raised the issue with officials. Will Mr. McCarthy also send me the figures for 2022 and 2023, and any projection for 2024, if there is one available? That graph shows each ETB and the level of funding going to each one. There needs to be some explanation as to how counties Laois and Offaly finished up in this situation. The number of young people in the population in County Laois increased by 73% between 1996 and 2022. It has the highest percentage of young people.

There are estates in the town where I live that contain 600 and 700 houses but that have no facilities. This is really important. Towns like Mountmellick and Portarlington have very little - almost nothing - available in this regard. It is the same across County Offaly. Mr. McCarthy can come back to me with the breakdown for those years.