Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, and thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak on this critical issue.

Our goal must be clear: to keep as many young people as possible out of the criminal justice system by addressing the root causes of crime, which are poverty, exclusion, addiction and lack of opportunities for younger people. Prevention and rehabilitation must be the focus if we are serious about building a safer and fairer community.

While cities see some level of youth investment, rural Ireland is constantly being left behind. Services are often concentrated in urban centres while rural communities are left scrambling for scraps. In my constituency of Cork North-West, we have one community superintendent who is in charge of 19 different towns and villages all at the one time.

For many young people, the cost of college, the lack of accommodation and the high prices of travel mean they are staying in their communities and they are being locked out of opportunities. We see many young people staying in the community just because they cannot afford to move out of their community into the bigger cities. They are staying in communities because, as I said, there are fewer options and very little support and it is a space where sometimes poverty, addiction and isolation can take root.

Addiction is a key part of this picture, especially in rural Ireland in recent years. Whether it is alcohol, drugs or behavioural addictions such as gambling, they are not individual moral failings. As an addiction counsellor myself, I have worked with many young people who are in the depths of addiction who come from fantastic families but who are now tied up in different parts of the criminal system because they owe debts to people. It is something that, in rural Ireland, is still seen as more of an urban issue than a rural issue but, in fact, it is everybody's problem. It is an issue in every crevice and village in Ireland, both rural and urban.

These symptoms disguise a deeper cause of social inclusion inequality, and if we want to talk about crime, we have to talk about the addiction treatment and the mental health supports that young people need and the poverty reduction around that. Youth workers play a vital role in this as well. Everyone shared their sentiment about youth work. Sometimes the youth worker is the only consistent adult in young people's lives. The youth worker is the trusted adult they need but, equally, youth workers also need funding because we see many youth workers being undervalued and underpaid and they do such amazing work. Substantial investment in youth work would be fantastic.

We are calling, as every other Senator here has mentioned, for investment in fantastic existing projects such as the TRY project, Foróige and CDYS. These all do fantastic work. Also, I would ask the Minister of State to consider the roll-out of local community safety partnerships because it takes a village to raise a child, and we all know that. It takes everybody's commitment to youth safety and youth crime prevention. It would be great to have a timeline on the Garda youth diversion programme that is being introduced for those up to 24 years of age. That would be great to see.

There are also other fantastic projects and wider supports that have been acknowledged. For instance, Senator Andrews has introduced the concept of the activity card, which would be a fantastic thing to have. It is based on the Planet Youth model for young people.

Diverting young people from crime is more than just keeping them out of the courts. It is about giving them a chance to thrive, and I think everybody in the House echoes that. It is about addressing poverty, addiction, inclusion and making sure no young person is left behind without any type of hope. I hope that is what we can all build together.