Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
171. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration his views on the merits of developing more inclusive and targeted support models for children and adolescents that would help deter involvement in anti-social behaviour; if he will consider expanding and diversifying funding streams for community-based projects working with young people (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6171/26]
View answerThe Government’s focus on youth diversion and interventions is a keystone in the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027. The strategy emphasises early intervention, prevention, family support, and community engagement. It is aimed at promoting positive behavioural change and targeting this behaviour so that we can break the cycle of offending by young people. To support this end, the budget allocation for Youth Justice measures has increased by 144% from 2020 to 2026 with a significant allocation of €7.3 million in additional core exchequer funding for Youth Justice measures announced as part of Budget 2026.
An essential pillar of the Government’s child-focused approach is the Garda Youth Diversion Programme. Under this Programme, any child between the ages of 12 and 17 who commits a criminal offence is considered for admission to a local Youth Diversion Programme (YDP). Assessment of each case is done by the Director of the Garda Diversion Programme (Garda Superintendent) in the Garda Division.
The operation of this programme includes informal and formal Garda warnings, delivered in the presence of parents or guardians, as well as provision for supervision by a Garda Juvenile Liaison Officer.
YDPs are community-based and multi-agency youth crime prevention initiatives. There are currently 94 YDPs in operation providing nationwide coverage across the State. The programmes offered by YDPs provide participants with suitable activities to facilitate their personal development, promote civic responsibility, encourage pro-social behaviour in their communities and improve their educational outcomes and long-term employability prospects.
My Department, in collaboration with the Probation Service, also operates a number of initiatives distinctly designed to address serious and prolific youth offending. These are the Greentown Programme, the Youth Justice Agency Response to Crime (YJARC), and targeted interventions for children who are harder to reach in terms of addressing prolific and serious offending.
In addition, from 1 January this year, management of the Bail Supervision Scheme (BSS) transferred from my Department to the Probation Service. BSS offers courts an alternative option to detaining a young person who comes before them by offering them the possibility of granting bail with intensive supervision.
The BSS scheme currently serves the Children Courts in Dublin, Limerick and Cork. The scheme uses Multisystemic Therapy (MST) to support families of young people to stick to their conditions prior to subsequent court appearances.
The Deputy may also wish to note that the Community Safety Fund (CSF), first launched in April 2021, is an annual grant fund that supports short to medium term projects which?allows for the proceeds of crime, seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and An Garda Síochána, to be directed back into communities, in order to fund innovative local projects aimed at building stronger, safer communities. Initially called the Community Safety Innovation Fund and launched in?2022,?it has supported 127 community safety projects to date.
Over successive years, the CSF has expanded in both reach and impact, supporting projects addressing youth engagement, domestic and gender-based violence, restorative justice, substance misuse and antisocial behaviour.
