Ballinrobe Project may close

Ballinrobe Youth Project may close

Claire Egan

BALLINROBE YOUTH Development Project faces the possibility of closure – four months after its establishment.
To date, the youth scheme has been providing services for over 100 teenagers each week in the south Mayo town, and has been very well-received locally. Now, however, the future of this much-needed service hangs in the balance, as funding for the development project may not be renewed by the Department of Education.
The project, which is under the remit of the Tacú Family Resource Centre, initially received a four-month funding grant in early December, which was administered by Mayo VEC.
Speaking to The Mayo News, Dr Katie Sweeney said that the application for further funding was lodged with the Department of Education in the past month.
“The application was lodged with the Department of Education but we have not received any official response, as of yet, regarding the youth project in Ballinrobe,” explained the CEO of Mayo VEC.
On receipt of the initial funding, the centre employed a full-time youth development officer, Tara Gannon, who outlined her far-reaching plans for the youth of Ballinrobe in an interview with The Mayo News after her appointment.
“We acknowledge that when we received funding, it was for four months. However, in light of the enormous work that has been undertaken we expected funding to be renewed, but as of yet we are still unclear. We are in an extremely precarious position and the future is completely uncertain. We had the option of either a six-month part-time officer or else a four-month full-time officer. We opted for the latter as we wanted to get things up and running. Now, however, funding may be cut and that means the end of the project and furthermore a job loss here at the centre,” said Tacú Family Resource Centre co-ordinator, Mary Jackson.
Since December the youth project has been providing a host of youth activities, ranging from arts and crafts to music and sport, as well as liaising with Ballinrobe Community School and the FÁS Youthreach programme. Furthermore, an after-school programme was also in operation as well as an extensive counselling service.
“We have pretty much only got started and now we are faced with the possibility of the project finishing up. The whole purpose of the project is that children will have something to do and to invest their time in. The project has helped to provide a full range of services to help children deal with the issues of drugs, alcohol and bullying and it has also provided them with activities that they may have an interest in. Now it could all be finished in April,” explained Mary.
Staff at the Family Resource Centre have now decided to launch a public petition to lobby local government representatives in an attempt to ensure that funding for the centre will be renewed.