City of Dublin Youth Services Board demands €600,000 of brutal cuts on youth projects

·         Protest at CDYSB headquarters at Morehampton Road this Friday at 10am and further political pressure are to be supported to force retreat

Responding to the news that the City of Dublin Youth Services Board this week demanded that €600,000 of cuts be imposed on youth projects covering Ballyfermot, Ballymun, Coolock/Darndale, Finglas, the North East and North West Inner Cities, Dublin Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy said:

“These cuts and the manner in which they are being imposed are brutal. Local boards of management and staff were abruptly told this week that cuts ranging from 11% to 14% of their budgets were to be imposed. The projects were given until this Friday to say how they intend to apply these cuts.

“These projects provide vital informal education and developmental activities to thousands of young people in some of the most hard pressed working class communities in the city. If applied these cuts will result in job losses, course and activity cancellations and many young people who are considered among the most at risk being, essentially, cut loose from their last chance of escaping a life of no opportunity.

“I gather that there is a fighting attitude among the board of managements, the workers as well as the young people themselves and their families. If they get organised they can exert a lot of political pressure on the CDYSB and their funders the VEC. The decision not to buy into the cuts deadline being imposed by the CDYSB and instead demonstrate on the CDYSB headquarters in Morehampton Road is extremely welcome and deserves widespread support.”