As the Deputy will be aware, part 4 of the Children Act 2001 (as amended) provides the statutory basis for the Garda Diversion Programme. The aim of the programme is to divert children and young people who have engaged in criminal or anti-social behaviour away from the criminal justice system and towards more positive life choices. Children who commit criminal offences are considered for admission to the Garda Diversion Programme. Each such case is assessed and the Director of the Garda Diversion Programme (a Garda Superintendent) decides if the case is suitable or not for inclusion.
The operation of the programme includes informal and formal Garda warnings, delivered in the presence of parents or guardians, as well as provision for supervision by a Garda Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO). A JLO is a Garda who works full time with young people who come in contact with the criminal justice system.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the Garda Commissioner is responsible, by law, for the administration and management of Garda business, including the operation of the statutory Garda Diversion Programme. As Minister, I play no role in these independent functions.
I am advised by the Garda authorities that An Garda Síochána has recently conducted two reviews of the Diversion Programme:
1. Hussey Review 2016 - 2018
2. Examination of the Youth Referral Process 2017-2019
I am further advised that the recommendations from both reviews have been mainstreamed and now form ‘business as usual’ practice with oversight and governance enhanced via the Governance & Oversight Structure set out in the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027.
Statistics for the number of persons referred to the Garda Youth Diversion Bureau on a divisional basis from 2016 to 2019 are provided in the attached document. These figures are sourced from S.44 Monitoring Committee Reports, which are available on the Garda website. I am further advised that statistics for 2020 have not yet been published.
The Youth Justice Strategy provides a comprehensive framework for the development of Youth Justice services including the Garda Diversion Programme. A key priority is the hard-to-reach cohort with problematic offending patterns.
In addition to the Garda Diversion Programme, the Deputy will be aware that Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) are run by community-based organisations in partnership with An Garda Síochána. These local YDPs provide an essential support to the operation of the statutory Garda Diversion Programme, and are fully funded by my Department.
I am pleased to note that the additional €6.7m provided for in Budget 2022 represents an increase of in excess of one third in support for youth justice services. It provides the resources to kick-start delivery of key objectives in the Youth Justice Strategy and, in particular, the programme to expand and deepen the range of supports made available through local YDP services. The main elements of this work are:
- Establishment of a limited number of new youth projects and boundary extensions of existing projects so as to ensure that the youth diversion services are available throughout the State by end-2022 or shortly thereafter.
- Enhancement of the youth diversion service, in accordance with identified local needs, to include:
- Early intervention and family support work
- Outreach with harder-to-engage young people
- Support for schools to retain challenging children
- Other specific initiatives e.g. in relation to anti-social use of scramblers and knife crime issues.
- Dedicated research and expert support, including best practice support for the nationwide project network, facilitated by the REPPP project team in the University of Limerick.
The ongoing development and review of Youth Justice systems is facilitated by the dedicated cross-agency governance and oversight structures provided for in the implementation of the Youth Justice Strategy, which include representatives of senior Garda management.
I can inform the Deputy that both I and my senior officials are in regular and frequent communication with the Garda Commissioner and his senior management team. These engagements take various forms and cover the full range of issues of relevance to our roles.
The Deputy may also be interested to note that the Department will shortly open a public consultation process on approaches to diverting young adults in the 18-24 age group away from crime, with a view to developing more effective measures which will lead to behaviour change.
Referrals
