Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise an issue that was mentioned under the Garda Vote.

The youth diversion programme falls under the justice Vote. I had a case a number of years ago when a teenage girl was the victim of a serious sexual assault. There was more than one perpetrator, one of whom ended up in a youth diversion programme. The victim and the family were greatly distraught that this happened. Perhaps there were good reasons for it but it struck me that other than a member of An Garda Síochána calling to the house and explaining that this had happened, that was the end of it for the victim. When I saw the heading "Victims of crime, including sexual crimes" it spoke to me and I thought of that particular case. In situations like that there needs to be greater follow-up, or some protocol in place to ensure that the victim of crime is looked after. In this case the young women was really traumatised by what happened and was retraumatised, in her hearing of it, that the people involved were not going to get anything other than being let off the hook. I accept that youth diversion is about making sure people do not get into a worse situation, but in such cases of very violent incidents or incidents of a sexual nature, there needs to be an emphasis on ensuring the victims are looked after properly. When I saw the heading I wanted to use this opportunity to enforce the point with the Minister of State, and to see if anything can be done in respect of that. This happened a number of years ago. Perhaps things have improved since; if they have, that is welcome. In my experience, they are very slow to improve in these issues. The evolution of restorative justice has been one of the means of dealing with matters like that. Perhaps there is a role it can play. I would welcome if the budget could also increase to ensure it could be used in instances like that. This young woman and her family were devastated by what happened, in their minds.