Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for being in the Chamber. I wanted to speak with the Minister today about the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 and the progress made so far in addressing the serious delays in processing times for young people interacting with the courts and youth justice systems. For context, an article was published in The Irish Timesa number of weeks ago which highlighted the stark reality for many young people engaging with the criminal justice system. It spoke of an "endless series of delays" that pose a serious barrier which can negatively impact a young person's mental health and which breaks the temporal connection between an offence and a concluding outcome. In some of the cases referenced in the article, young people have been waiting up to seven years for their cases to come to a conclusion. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children facing criminal charges have a right to have the matter determined without delay but our youth justice system does not currently facilitate this. I know the Department is aware of the issue and that there are various actions within the latest youth justice strategy targeting the minimisation of these delays but the young people and young adults at present interacting with the youth justice system cannot wait until 2027.

I ask for an update on the impact of the youth justice strategy on waiting times. I know that we are only in year 2 of the strategy but we need to provide reassurance to those impacted by delays. The strategy promised to establish a national governance and strategy group to guide its implementation but I am unclear as to whether this has been achieved. If it has, what is the make-up of the group's membership? A mid-term review is promised in the third year of the strategy's lifetime but, without the ongoing oversight of a governance and strategy group, the strategy risks repeating the same mistakes.

Community representatives have tentatively welcomed the 2021 youth strategy but they are not without concerns because history has shown that many of our young people have not received the investment and attention they require. In budget 2021, €6.2 million was allocated to interventions under the youth justice strategy. I notice the same figure has been referenced in respect of funding for youth diversion projects. While greater investment in youth justice is welcome, there needs to be a clear delineation between the work of youth diversion projects, which are overseen by An Garda Síochána, and the work of the community-based youth organisations. The solutions to the problems at the heart of youth justice lie within the communities affected by them.

There are a number of specific areas covered by the youth justice strategy that I would like to get some clarification on today. The first is the issue of the offence committed as a minor being dealt with as an adult. If young people turn 18 while awaiting the conclusion a particular charge, they lose the protections offered by the Children Act 2001, including the right to anonymity. In addition, if handed down a custodial sentence, they will be detained in an adult prison for a crime they committed as a child. The youth justice strategy suggests that an amendment to the Children Act could be considered so that its provisions could apply to the processing of an offence with reference to age at time it is committed irrespective of the age of the young person when the case actually comes to court. Has this suggested amendment been advanced at all?

I have heard some anecdotal reports from youth workers that some young people committing first-time offences involving the possession of small amounts of drugs are being charged as a first port of call rather than being referred to a juvenile liaison officer, JLO. This completely contradicts the Government's commitment to a health-led approach on drug use. The youth justice strategy advises that the Department should prioritise research, discussion papers and pilot initiatives on the prevalence and impacts of trends on issues such as drug use. Will the Minister of State clarify where we are in that process? I strongly believe that we need to view and respond to drug use in a very different way than we currently do. We cannot right all the wrongs of the past but we can chart a very different path for our children and young people. I would welcome clarification from the Minister of State as to how the youth justice strategy will support this journey. I thank the Minister of State again for her time. I look forward to her response.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue today. I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, who sends his apologies. I hope his office contacted the Senator's before this debate.

As the Senator will be aware, the courts are independent in their functions under the Constitution and the law. The matter of scheduling court cases is administered by the Courts Service in consultation with the Judiciary. With the exception of more serious offences, criminal prosecutions involving children are generally heard in the District Court, which operates as the Children Court, with procedures specified in the Children Act 2001. The Minister for Justice plays no role in these independent functions.

The Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, published by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, last year, contains a range of actions that aim to improve the interaction between the justice system and those young people who come into contact with it. As the Senator has noted, the strategy contains a strategic objective, objective 3.4, to prioritise processing of children and young adult cases to minimise delays, including with regard to the role of Garda case managers. This will include specific actions on how the case manager role and other mechanisms can be used to reduce delays in bringing cases to court, to minimise the number of court appearances for each child or young person, to ensure effective practice so that young persons are fully informed and aware of what is involved in the court process and to provide appropriate review mechanisms. I assure the Senator that these actions will be taken forward as part of the implementation of the strategy.

More broadly, the Government is committed to ensuring the courts are adequately resourced to ensure the efficient administration of justice and continues to commit substantial resources to enable this. There is a total gross allocation of €164 million for the courts Vote, which includes an allocation of a further €1 million for the new courts modernisation programme, building on the €8 million already provided in the Estimates for 2021 and retained for 2022.

Significant and sustained efforts have been made to minimise disruption to courts due to Covid-19, with priority continuing to be given to urgent matters such as domestic violence applications. Throughout the pandemic, the Judiciary and the Courts Service have worked closely and innovated through the use of technology to maintain the highest level of court activity possible. Addressing the waiting times built up in some areas during the pandemic while at the same time meeting the goals set out in the Courts Service modernisation programme will be a significant challenge for the courts. The Courts Service management, both nationally and locally, continues to work closely with the Judiciary to deal with the consequences of the pandemic and to look to schedule extra sittings to deal with delays within the system. However, it is likely the pressure on the courts system will remain a feature for the short to medium term.

I take on board the Senator's suggestions regarding the amendment of the Children Act and offences committed as a minor being dealt with when the person in question is a young adult. I will also bring what the Senator raised regarding juvenile liaison officers to the attention of the Minister.

Lynn Ruane (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State. Even though I am always happy to see her here in the Chamber, I was unaware that the Minister would not be here today. It is not the Minister of State's fault but, historically, I have always looked to withdraw my Commencement matters in such instances in order to ensure that nuanced questions, such as those around the JLO and timing out of the system, can be answered on the spot by the Minister. I just want to put that on the record. That is not a criticism directed at the Minister of State.

Timing out of childhood is obviously a significant issue and Covid has not necessarily been the thing to delay these cases. Some children have faced delays of six or seven years. That is a long delay in dealing with a charge in anybody's life. If anything, not having the matter dealt with encourages the continuation of criminal behaviour because you are just waiting on something, you are not really sure and your life is on hold. Has the governance and strategy group been set up and what is its make-up? I have one more suggestion for the Minister.It involves my spent convictions legislation that will, hopefully, make its way through the Dáil. The youth work strategies and legislation acknowledge a young person up to the age of 24. This is what we need to do when we are looking at youth strategies. A person does not just become an adult when he or she turns 18. We should be extending this up to the age of 24.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Yet again, I thank the Senator. The Minister of State, Deputy Browne, says he welcomes the additional €6.7 million provided for in budget 2022, representing an increase over one third in support for the youth justice service. This budget funding provides the resources to kick-start delivery of key objectives in the youth justice strategy and, in particular, the programme to expand and deepen the range of supports made available through local youth diversion project services.

The potential expansion of youth diversion projects to young adults aged 18 to 24 is designed to reduce the time a young person spends within the system and to improve the positive outcome for that young person. These actions will also have an impact on the number of cases brought before the courts, further helping to reduce the delays currently being experienced.

Dedicated cross-agency structures have been established to guide the implementation of the youth justice strategy, including the matter raised by the Senator, as well as expert research support to assist in developing enhanced policies, programmes and practice. In addition, the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, chairs a youth justice advisory group, which includes a broad range of community and expert stakeholders, that provides advice and expert insights to help pursue the wide range of objectives contained in the strategy.