Foreword
By Minister for State for Youth Affairs
Mr. Bernard Allen, T.D.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to commend Cork Local Voluntary Youth Council on its valuable contribution to the development of Youth Work policy and provision in the Cork area since its establishment in October 1994. The Council rightly recognises the value of research, both to provide a firm basis for operation of the Council itself and as a critical preliminary step in identifying needs and facilitating the provision of appropriate youth work services.
I find the partnership between Cork Local Voluntary Youth Council and the Education Department of University College Cork to be a particularly progressive development. Indeed, I was recently in a position to announce the establishment of two Special Projects for disadvantaged young people in Bishopstown and Ballyphehane areas on foot of research carried out on behalf of the City of Cork VEC by the Education Department of UCC.
The recently published White Paper on Education, Charting Our Education Future, recognises that the need for specific youth services in any particular region or locality can best be assessed by a regional or local body, having regard to the requirements of the area. The voluntary nature of youth work provision will be enhanced and guidelines for a single model of a Voluntary Youth Council will be developed to provide a forum for local youth groups and units to have an input into the formulation and implementation of youth work policy and provision. I am at present considering how best to ensure a continued affirmation of the concept of Local Voluntary Youth Councils within the policy framework outlined in the White Paper.
One of the mainstays of youth work is the volunteer and we in Ireland are fortunate indeed in the number and quality of our volunteers. They give unselfishly and unstintingly of their free time and energies in many worthwhile causes and endeavours. We, as a society, are in their debt and I wish to put on record my personal appreciation of their invaluable contribution.
The Cork Local Voluntary Youth Council provides a valuable forum for these volunteers and the organisations to which they belong, to collectively address youth work issues and priorities and to support and facilitate voluntary effort. I am confident that this commitment to the young people of Cork will ensure continued success for the Council.
Le gach dea-ghuí.
Bernard Allen, T.D., Minister of State
