Thomas Gould
Question:
123. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Justice the number of young people processed through the Garda youth diversion programme for possession of a drug in each of the past five years, in tabular form [27395/24]
View answer
I have requested the information sought by the Deputy from the Garda authorities. Unfortunately the information has not been received on time. I will contact the Deputy directly once the information is available.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 123 of 26 June 2024 where you sought: “The number of young people processed through the Garda youth diversion programme for possession of a drug in each of the past five years.”
You will recall that the information could not be obtained in the time available, and I undertook to consult with An Garda Síochána and contact you again when the requested information was available.
As the you will be aware, Part 4 of the Children Act 2001 (as amended) provides the statutory basis for the Garda Youth Diversion Programme. The intention 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 Programme.
Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) are a fundamental support to the operation of the statutory Garda Diversion Programme and provide a vital ingredient in enhancing community policing partnerships. These projects are community based multi-agency crime prevention initiatives, which are funded directly by my Department. YDPs seek to divert young people who have become involved, or are at risk of becoming involved, in crime/anti-social behaviour away from future involvement with the Criminal Justice System.
In Budget 2024, the funding allocated to Youth Justice Services increased by 10% to €33 million. This will facilitate an increase in the availability of YDP services in the evenings and at weekends when many young people need them the most, as well as 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. Programmes run by individual YDPs are outcomes-focused, taking account of the needs, issues and circumstances surrounding referred young people, including their offending behaviour as identified through the assessment process.
The current network of 99 YDPs is extensive but we will continue to develop it further, through both the expansion of the catchment areas of existing projects, where appropriate, and also through the creation of additional projects, 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 later this year.
The table below, provided to me by the Garda authorities, outlines the number of youths associated with valid youth referrals for “Simple Possession” or “Possession for Sale or Supply” incidents between 1 January 2019 and 25 June 2024. It is worth noting the count is based on the year the referral was created.
|
Referral Year
|
Youth Referrals
|
|
2019
|
1,366
|
|
2020
|
1,390
|
|
2021
|
1,340
|
|
2022
|
1,289
|
|
2023
|
1,094
|
|
2024*
|
479
|
*Up to 25 June 2024.
I am advised that each youth is only counted once per year, even if they were associated with incidents of both types. They may be counted in more than one year if they were associated with referrals in more than one year.
It is worth noting that all information contained in this report is based upon operational data from the PULSE system as was available on 26 June 2024 and is liable to change.
I hope the above is of assistance.
