But here's the rub. The plan is costed at 36 million euros but only 120,000 euros has been provided in the first year. So all that will happen is a child protection training programme and the appointment of a national assessor (equivalent to one HMI). None of the other recommendations will be implemented this year.
The parallels for youth work on this island are obvious. Governments can make great plans, or even accept the plans made by others, but they don't always find the cash to carry them out. The recent story of 'Entitlement' in Wales is too similar for comfort. England's government set out an imaginative architecture in Resourcing Excellent Youth services. It has found some extra money to begin to repair two decades of neglect. But without sustained investment in the next comprehensive spending review - work for which begins this autumn - the plans may have all the features of an Irish ballad: haunting but mournful.
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