Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has plans to increase the number of juvenile liaison officers in view of the proven success in dealing with juvenile offenders and the increasing burden that is likely to be placed on them following the enactment of the juvenile justice sections of the Criminal Justice Bill 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22147/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that as at 31 March, 2006 there were 95 Juvenile Liaison Officers (JLOs) working in the various Divisions throughout the country.

JLOs are responsible for implementing the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme, which provides an opportunity to divert juvenile offenders from criminal activity. It operates on a nationwide basis under the supervision and direction of the Garda National Juvenile Office, Harcourt Square, Dublin 2. The Programme 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.

The Children Act, 2001 provides a statutory basis for the Juvenile Diversion Programme. The Programme now includes provision on restorative cautioning and family conferencing which form part of the comprehensive restorative elements of the Act. The Juvenile Diversion Programme came into operation on 1 May, 2002. The Programme has proven to be highly successful in diverting young people away from crime by offering guidance and support to juveniles and their families. In the more serious cases, juveniles are placed under the supervision of Garda Juvenile Liaison Officers, who are responsible for administering the Programme at the local level.

In addition to the Juvenile Diversion Programme, there are also 64 Garda Youth Diversion Projects nationwide, with plans to increase this to 100 by the end of 2007. Garda Youth Diversion Projects are a crime prevention initiative, which adopt a multi-agency partnership approach to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour at community level. The projects aim to bring about the conditions whereby the behavioural patterns of young people towards law and order can develop and mature through positive interventions and interaction with the project. The projects are particularly targeted at 10-18 year old "at risk" youths in communities where a specific need has been identified.

The current recruitment drive to increase the strength of the Garda Síochána to 14,000 members, in line with the commitment in the Agreed Programme for Government, is fully on target. This will lead to a combined strength, of both attested Gardaí and recruits in training, of 14,000 by the end of this year. The Garda Commissioner will now be drawing up plans on how best to distribute and manage these additional resources, and in this context the needs of the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme will be given the fullest consideration.