Martin Kenny
Ceist:716. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the estimated cost of funding for one youth diversion programme per year, including capital costs in tabular form. [34064/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 28 June 2022
Ceisteanna (716)
Freagraí scríofa
The Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) are community based projects that offer vital support to the statutory Garda Youth Diversion Programme. There are currently 105 YDPs across the State. The Projects are funded through my Department; however as the Deputy may appreciate, the funding needs of individual YDPs differ based on a range of criteria, such as the geographical area in which the Project operates, the number of referrals to the YDP and the number of the 'hard to reach' cohort of these referrals, amongst others.
My Department offers funding appropriate to the needs of each YDP and as determined by standard budgetary processes. Funding fluctuates based upon the YDPs' determination of their needs against the available budget for Youth Justice services annually. Therefore it is not possible to provide the estimated cost for funding one YDP for a year.
To be of assistance, however, the average amount of funding allocated to YDPs in 2021 was €174,000 . This includes all funding provided by the Department.
Budget 2022 provides an additional €6.7 million in funding for Youth Justice services. I announced on 22 June that over 50 YDPs will benefit from this additional funding to:
- extend the boundaries of some YDPs to increase coverage, as provided for in the Youth Justice Strategy;
- increase funding to engage with the harder to reach cohort of referrals;
- provide additional early intervention supports;
- provide family supports to the relatives of those young people engaged with the YDPs;
- further develop the Solas initiative in Dublin.
Of this €6.7million, approximately €780,000 has been set aside to establish a limited number of additional YDPs this year to ensure that the service is available to every child or young person in the State who would benefit from it.