Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 October 2018
289. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Justice and Equality when he expects to receive the audit of cases being carried out into the juvenile diversion programme; and if same will be published at an early date. [39792/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, a number of issues which impact on the effective administration of the Garda Diversion Programme were identified following the completion, in June 2017, of an examination by the Garda Professional Services Unit, GPSU. The Garda authorities subsequently initiated a comprehensive review of all youth referrals between 2010 and 2017 and a review team was tasked with coordinating this work, which covers all of the 28 Garda divisions.
I can assure the Deputy of my concern that these issues are thoroughly addressed. These matters have also been highlighted in correspondence from the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, to the Policing Authority, in the context of their oversight role of An Garda Síochána, and the Deputy will be aware that the Policing Authority have indicated their intention to engage further with the Garda authorities in this matter. My Department has recently received a further update on the progress of the review, and the final report of the review team will be provided to the Commissioner in the coming weeks, and I expect to see full details of the report at this time.
