Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If we want to divert young people from becoming involved in criminality, we need a dual approach. The first is ensuring young people have proper supports, services and amenities in their areas, that they have hope and that they feel they have the opportunity to meet their full potential regardless of their backgrounds. The second is that we need a community approach that steers young people away from crime. The last thing any of us wants to see is a young person ending up in the courts and going to prison. A criminal conviction can do serious damage to a young person's future prospects. We need the Educational Welfare Service to be given the resources necessary to ensure that children attend school regularly and to support families that need it.

We have also seen the benefit across communities of ensuring that young people have spaces they can socialise in that are accessible outside school hours at weekends and in the evenings and that do not come at a cost. I have noticed, particularly in the context of many of the new estates being built in my constituency, that there are houses but that we do not have communities.

We should not have to wait years until we get the community centres, playgrounds and all of the other facilities communities need.

Another major problem and one that contributes hugely to criminality is drug and alcohol addiction. Supports and services need to be in place for drug and alcohol addiction. On top of all of this, we need policing that can identify young people who are at risk of offending and steer them away from that path. That works but it takes resources. I commend the work of the Garda youth diversion programme and urge the Minister to ensure that this programme is expanded and resourced. We all know, from all walks of life, that early intervention works and is so important. To do that, we need more community gardaí who are out and about, talking in our youth clubs and talking to residents and business. In Coolock, for example, we currently only have eight community gardaí whereas in 2015, we had 16.

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