Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 May 2024
122. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice for an update in relation to the operation of Dublin city south and DÁN Garda youth diversion projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23140/24]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, a top priority of the Youth Justice Strategy is the expansion and deepening of the services offered to young people by the Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs), which are fully funded by my Department. These projects provide an invaluable support to complement the work of An Garda Síochána in addressing youth crime and protecting local communities.
YDPs are community based, multi-agency youth crime prevention initiatives which primarily seek to divert young people who have been, or are at risk of becoming, involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour. Youth Diversion Projects are run by community-based organisations and are a vital support to the statutory Garda Youth Diversion Programme.
Under Budget 2024, I was delighted to announce that the funding allocated to Youth Justice Services will increase by 10% to €33 million. This will facilitate an increase in the availability of YDP services in the evenings and at the weekends when many young people need them the most. The funding will also see an increase in supports for families, interventions for typically hard-to-reach young people and early interventions for 8-11 year olds who may be at increased risk of becoming engaged in criminal activity.
The current network of 99 YDPs is extensive but we will continue to develop it further to ensure every child who needs it is reached. Four new Youth Diversion Projects were launched last year to become operational later this year, with a further two additional projects planned for introduction this year.
As of 1 January 2024, three Foróige YDPs; KRIB, DÁN and The Liberties Club, all of which were based in Dublin City South, were amalgamated to provide YDP service from Bluebell in the west, to Donnybrook in the east. This area includes Kilmainham, Pearse Street, Kevin Street, Irishtown and Donnybrook Garda station catchments.
The primary objective of this amalgamation is to enhance the delivery of the Youth Justice Strategy with a focus on supporting families of young people at risk of crime and antisocial behaviour in the catchment area and to comprehensively deliver service provision to the boundary extension of Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 areas of the city.
I officially launched the Dublin City South YDP on 16 April 2024 at the Foróige premises in Dublin 8.
Applications for additional workers for the Dublin City South YDP are currently under consideration by my Department.
