Newbridge Councillor Calls For Premises' To Be Identified For Local Youth Services

He had two separate motions related to these services in the county.

A local councillor has raised motions about finding premises' for local youth services in Newbridge.

Social Democrats Councillor for Kildare/Newbridge MD Chris Pender had two separate motions related to these services in the county.

Cllr Pender asked for Kildare County Council to engage with the HSE to find a suitable premises for a news Jigsaw service in Newbridge, as well as asking for Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board to be contacted regarding the Newbridge Urban and Morristownbiller UBU Youth Project, to identify a suitable premises for that group as well.

Earlier this month, €1.1million was announced for the new Jigsaw Service in Newbridge

There had previously been calls for the dedicated service in the town that would cover the entire county.

In relation to the new Jigsaw service, KCC said that it is still awaiting further clarification and details following the initial announcement of €1.1 million.

It added that the services in question are core funded from other public sources including the HSE, Department of Health and other relevant bodies, and that it is "extremely important " that the roles of these Government agencies are not "subvented" by local authority funding.

KCC did note challenges when it comes to operational funding for youth services, which currently excludes rent and similar costs, making  deliverability "challenging in the Greater Dublin Area".

The council went to describe the challenges in terms of functional space around these types of services are "complex", raising concerns such as when vulnerable minors are in the same space as unvetted adults.

KCC described services as "currentyly unsuitable" to cater for the needs of counselling services, given that exclusivity in the access to and use of spaces is "essential", adding that at least two professionals are needed on site to meet ratios to adhere to child protection rules.

However, the Council says it has made a "very extensive submission" to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB) as part of the
development of their Youth Work Strategic Plan, offering many recommendations for ways in which the Council and KWETB could collaborate for the advancement of youth services.

Already KWETBs Youth Service has recently visited 60% of the community spaces in the County to assess their usability for youth programming, and we look forward to further assessments and their detailed response so we can plan collaboration in a practical way.

Speaking on Kildare Today, Cllr Pender said that we "can't play politics" with the issue of youth services.

"This is one of those issues where we can't play politics with it, this is about the mental health of young people.

"The reason why I put this on the agenda is that we're seeing funding being announced, with either no funding when it comes to the renting of the premises, or with no premises necessarily identified," Cllr Pender concluded.

The full interview can be heard below: