Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board (MSLETB) is delighted to announce that the Department of Education and Youth has approved the funding for Castlebar with outreach to Ballinrobe under the UBU Your Place Your Space scheme.
This new UBU service will support 120+ young people across both areas, with a budget allocation of €120,000 and approximately two dedicated youth workers.
The service will focus on providing community-based youth work supports to meet the personal, social, and developmental needs of young people, particularly those facing social and economic disadvantage. Young people will be supported through group work, one-to-one interventions, outreach, and culturally inclusive programmes, operating outside school hours, evenings, weekends, and during school holidays.
Why this service matters:
Castlebar and Ballinrobe are areas of high deprivation, with significant challenges such as rural isolation, poor transport, socio-economic disadvantage, and a lack of dedicated youth infrastructure. Rapid demographic changes, including new communities, asylum seekers, Roma and Traveller families, and a high number of young people with disabilities, highlight the urgent need for tailored and inclusive youth services.
Programme priorities will align with national policy, including:
- Promoting mental health and social wellbeing
- Supporting young people not in education, employment, or training
- Inclusion, outreach and intercultural youth work
- Participation in arts, culture and outdoor recreation
- Youth civic engagement and volunteering
- Digital skills, information literacy, and tackling misinformation
MSLETB welcomes this investment, which will provide young people in Castlebar and Ballinrobe with safe, supportive, and empowering spaces to build resilience, confidence, and opportunities for the future.
