The Children Act 2001 is a fundamental revision of legislation governing the treatment of children in conflict with the law and non-offending children in need of special care and protection. The considerations behind the Act are prevention, through early intervention, is desirable; diversion, where a child has committed an offence, is the preferred option where society would not be adversely affected; community sanctions should be available where it is necessary to bring a child before the courts; and although appropriate in certain cases, detention for children should be a measure of last resort.
The 2001 Act is comprehensive but complex legislation. For those reasons, it is being implemented on a phased basis, as was envisaged at the time of enactment. Responsibility for implementing the Act lies with the Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Education and Science and Health and Children. Despite the complexity of the legislation, significant progress has been made in its implementation to date. A key aim of the Act is to retain the distinction between offending children and non-offending children in need of care and protection by providing two distinctive pathways for addressing their needs — a youth justice route which emphasises a diversionary and restorative justice approach and a welfare route which emphasises care and protection.
With regard to the youth justice route, the part of the Act providing for a diversion programme to replace the Garda juvenile liaison officer, JLO, scheme was brought into operation in May 2002. The objective of the programme, which is also administered by the Garda Síochána, is to divert from committing further offences any child who accepts responsibility for his or her criminal behaviour. The programme introduced the concepts of restorative justice and family conferencing.
In addition to the Garda diversion programme, my Department also funds the Garda youth diversion projects. The projects are community based initiatives to divert young people from becoming involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour. The number of such projects has grown from 12 in 1997 to 64, a growth made possible in part by funding under the National Development Plan 2000-2006. The probation and welfare service also supports 73 projects nationally which offer programmes to offenders and those at risk of offending. Forty six of these specifically target young offenders. There are plans to extend the range of projects which offer services to young offenders and children as part of the implementation of the Children Act 2001.
Within the prison system, facilities and programmes for young offenders are centred mainly at St. Patrick's Institution. A diverse range of services is provided, including individual and group programmes involving education, training, medical and welfare supports. It is important to emphasise, too, that a wide range of educational and support services for young people generally is provided by a number of Departments. While not all are specifically in the area of crime prevention, of course, there are links and co-operation with other Departments on significant cross cutting issues relevant to the area of youth justice.
My Department, for example, continues to participate actively in the framework established by the Government to implement the national drugs strategy. The Department is also represented on the national assessment committee of the young peoples facilities and services fund. This fund was set up by the Government to attract young people at risk into sports, recreational facilities and activities and to divert them away from the danger of substance misuse. Approximately €75 million to date has been provided by the Government to support about 450 facilities and services.
The cross cutting and interdependent nature of the Children Act 2001 reflects a well acknowledged need to begin to join up the thinking and the operation of services for children. With this in mind, I established a project team in my Department charged with examining the scope for rationalising and restructuring the delivery of the State's services in the area of youth justice. Although we have established a sound statutory framework for a modern youth justice system, it is considered that some fresh thinking with regard to the institutional and strategic environment in which it is to be delivered may be helpful.
The project team is consulting with relevant governmental and non-governmental experts in the area, as well as evaluating international developments. An important element, too, is a public consultation process and a notice was placed in the national newspapers calling for submissions before the end of November. A number of submissions were received and they are being considered at present. I expect the project team to report to me before summer next year.
