Minister Joe O’Brien Welcomes New Funding for Children and Young People’s Services to Support International Protection Applicants

• €1,300,000 has been made available to the Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSC) to enhance and expand their delivery of support services to children, young people, and families in the International Protection system.

• Up to €50,000 was made available to each of the 27 CYPSC for 2023

Joe O’Brien TD, Minister for Community Development, Integration, and Charities, has today welcomed the announcement of €1,300,000 in funding from his Department for the Children and Young People’s Services Committees (CYPSC). The new funding model aims to enable the CYPSC to enhance and expand their delivery of support services to children, young people and families in the International Protection system. Under this model, up to €50,000 was made available to each of the 27 CYPSC for the 2023 period. Proposals were received for a broad range of initiatives to run at local and national level including:

• The expansion of the ‘My Place to Play’ initiative, a family support and early childhood development resource;

• The translation of Tusla Parenting Support Guides for dissemination to protection applicants nationally;

• The organisation of a variety of summer camps/programmes/projects integrating children and young people into Irish communities;

• The coordination of counselling services and trauma informed therapy supports for adolescents;

• The delivery of culturally sensitive parenting programmes.

Welcoming the Funding, Joe O’Brien TD said:

“A Cornerstone of the White Paper to End Direct Provision is a focus on meeting the needs of children, young people and families in the International Protection system through the provision of targeted supports. The launch of this new funding model will help enhance those supports by bolstering the good work already being carried out by the Children and Young People’s Services Committees, enabling them to progress new initiatives and expand their delivery of services to International Protection applicants.”