Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I concur with the Deputy on the success of these projects. I know from my experience in the Louth constituency that they are beneficial and get gardaí into areas in which perhaps heretofore they were not able to operate. It also allows them to gain the confidence of some young people, but not all unfortunately.

The national youth justice strategy 2008 to 2010 details the plans for the development of complementary programmes to existing ones. The first step is to audit the existing programmes to identify gaps in the system. This will be completed by the end of 2008 when the development of new initiatives will be considered. I expect the review will examine the overall value of existing projects. On an anecdotal basis, it is accepted these have been very beneficial. That the Government has increased the funding is significant. It is accepted this is a good scheme.

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