Martin Kenny
Ceist:101. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the number of youth diversion programmes by county in each of the years between 2016 and 2022, in tabular form. [61137/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 7 December 2022
Ceisteanna (101)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will be aware, Youth Diversion Projects (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. There are over 100 YDPs nationwide providing suitable activities to facilitate personal development, promote civic responsibility and improve long term employability prospects for participants.
I have sought the information requested by the Deputy. Regrettably this information was not available in time and I will write to the Deputy again once it is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.
The table below sets out the number of Youth Diversion Projects by County for the years 2016 to 2022.
|
County |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
|
Carlow |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Cavan |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Clare |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Cork |
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
12 |
13 |
13 |
|
Donegal |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Dublin |
36 |
36 |
36 |
36 |
36 |
36 |
37 |
|
Galway |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
Kerry |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Kildare |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
Kilkenny |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Laois |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Limerick |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
6 |
|
Longford |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Louth |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
Mayo |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Meath |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
Monaghan |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Offaly |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Roscommon |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Sligo/Leitrim |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Tipperary |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Waterford |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Westmeath |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Wexford |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Wicklow |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Total |
105 |
105 |
105 |
105 |
105 |
105 |
106 |
The Garda Youth Diversion Programme aims to redirect young people who have been involved in crime or anti-social behaviour, through the above network of 106 Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) throughout the state.
These YDPs support over 4,000 young people who have been identified as ‘at risk’, by trying to divert them away from the criminal justice system.
The communities within which YDPs are based are diverse, geographically distributed, and vary accordingly in population size. The vast majority of YDPs are in existence for more than 10 years, and are based in cities or towns, and about two-thirds are integrated with universal youth services. The number of YDPs in a particular county does not reflect the resources available in that county, or the coverage of the service in that county. The staffing levels, and accordingly the funding provided to different YDPs, varies in line with need in each location.
In Budget 2023 a further €2.5 million in funding was allocated to youth justice services, increasing the total budget allocation for the YDPs and other youth justice projects to €30.24 million. This funding will be deployed with the assistance of the best available research and expert evidence to keep young people away from crime.
Under the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-27, the intention is to further develop this service so that it is available to every child in the State who could benefit from it, through an ongoing expansion of existing services and the foundation of new projects where necessary.
You may also wish to be aware that I recently invited proposals from community and youth service organisations to establish new Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) in South Monaghan, Claremorris, Co. Mayo, South and West Co. Wicklow and West Cork.
I trust that this information is of assistance.