Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 873: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of Garda youth diversion projects that have been established; and the geographic remit of same. [11780/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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To date, 100 Garda Youth Diversion Projects have been established nationwide. Most recently, in October of 2007, I announced the establishment of 7 Garda Youth Diversion Projects which fulfilled the commitment made by my Department to have 100 projects in operation by the end of 2007.

There are 31 projects operating in Dublin, 11 in Cork, and 6 each in Kerry and Limerick. There are 5 projects in Waterford and 4 each in Galway, Louth and Tipperary. Offaly and Wexford have 3 projects. Clare, Donegal, Kildare, Laois, Mayo, Meath, Westmeath and Wicklow all have 2 projects while Carlow, Cavan, Kilkenny, Longford, Roscommon and Sligo and Monaghan all have one. Further details are set out in the attached table.

Finally, the Programme for Government contains a commitment to increase the number of Garda Youth Diversion Projects to 168 in the lifetime of this Government. On this note, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that additional resources have been allocated to fund the further expansion of these types of projects in 2008.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 874: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of Gardaí allocated to the Garda youth diversion projects; and if these are all juvenile liaison officers. [11781/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, it is the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner to decide on the prioritisation and allocation of resources within the force. In the time available to answer the question it was not possible to establish the total number of Gardaí involved with Garda Youth Diversion Projects.

There are currently 100 Garda Youth Diversion Projects operating throughout the country and this number will be extended to 168 in line with the commitment in the Agreed Programme for Government.

The work in a Garda Youth Diversion Project (GYPD) is primarily carried out by a project coordinator/youth worker, who operates under the guidance of a project/management committee. The project/management committee membership generally includes a representative from the relevant youth organisation/employer, who chairs the committee, the local Inspector, Juvenile Liaison Officer, Community Garda and local community representatives. The committee may also include representatives from other relevant bodies, for example, Health Services Executive, Probation Service, local school, etc.

Some Garda Districts have more than one project in operation and therefore some Gardaí are active in the operation of more than one Garda Youth Diversion Project. The local Inspector has responsibility, as project treasurer, for the administration and management of project funding.

The local Juvenile Liaison Officer (JLO) sits on the Referral Assessment Committee operated by each project. The Referral Assessment Committee assesses the benefits of admission to the project for each young person referred by the Garda Juvenile Diversion Programme. As of 31 December 2007 there were 93 Juvenile Liaison Officers country wide. The Garda Commissioner has given a commitment to appoint an additional 28 JLOs by 2010.

In addition to the JLO and Community Gardaí, other local Gardaí, including, where appropriate, Gardaí from specialist units, also get involved in the work of GYDPs. The Garda Community Relations Section (GCRS) of the Garda National Juvenile Office based in Harcourt Street coordinates the administration of these projects. The Irish Youth Justice Service, with an Garda Síochána, will evaluate the effectiveness of existing GYDPs, develop new guidelines for them, promote best practice and expand the number of projects available.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 875: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of children currently engaged with Garda youth diversion projects; and the maximum number of children that can be catered for by the existing projects. [11782/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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By 31 December 2007 there were 100 Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) in existence, 29 of which were established during 2007. In the time available it was not possible to establish the total number of young persons currently engaged with Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs). I will forward the most recent figures to the Deputy in writing as soon as they are available.

It should be noted that the needs of the young people participating in a project will differ from time to time. In addition the capacity of a project over a particular period will also depend on the group dynamic of those participating. It is necessary for projects to continually review their capacity based on the needs of the young people involved. The Garda Youth Diversion Projects focus on the quality of the work/intervention with the project participants. In these circumstances, it is not possible to fix a figure for the maximum number of young people that can be catered for by the existing Garda Youth Diversion Projects.