Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 325: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has satisfied himself with the extent to which parents support efforts by the Garda under juvenile diversion programmes; his views on whether there is a need to strengthen the law to force parents to become more actively involved in juvenile diversion in cases in which parental support to deal with these issues is not forthcoming; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24353/04]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Garda juvenile diversion programme has proven to be highly successful in diverting young people away from crime by offering guidance and support to juveniles and their families. The first commencement order under the Children Act 2001 was made in May 2002 and included provisions placing the programme on a statutory basis. The Act introduced the concept of restorative justice to the programme.

The programme is administered under the direction of a Garda superintendent, known as the director of the programme, and by 94 juvenile liaison officers. The programme has been in existence for the past 40 years. It provides that, in certain circumstances, a juvenile under 18 years of age who freely accepts responsibility for a criminal incident may be cautioned as an alternative to prosecution. In the more serious cases juveniles are placed under the supervision of Garda juvenile liaison officers. They are specially trained members of the Garda Síochána responsible for administering the programme at local level.

In some cases, a family conference will be convened in respect of the young person who has admitted to his or her criminal behaviour. The ideal family conference would include both parents in attendance fully co-operating with the efforts to divert their child successfully from further criminal activity. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. In some cases the child may be living with a relative other than their parents. Consequently, section 32 of the Act provides that one of the following persons must attend a conference — a parent or guardian, a member of the child's family or relatives of the child. Making it obligatory for a parent to attend could deprive some youngsters suitable for diversion from benefiting from a family conference, as to do so would mean ending up with an unsatisfactory conference or no conference. Many such youngsters would have a caring relative that could take the place of the parents at a conference. It would be inappropriate to coerce participants and their families into restorative events. The ethos of voluntary engagement with the services provided by Garda JLOs is paramount in the delivery of the programme. In this way young persons can and do take full responsibility for their criminal behaviour. They can work together with parents, or another supportive family member or relative, children and members of the community. The liaison officer can assist in the provision of a plan of action to divert young people from further offending.

To facilitate these innovative developments Garda JLOs are receiving training to provide them with the extra skills required to deal successfully with the programme. To date all of the 94 JLOs have received a minimum of three days training in the principles of restorative justice and over half have received 80 hours mediation training delivered over a three month period. It is expected that the remaining officers will be trained over the next year.