Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 277: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress that has been made in establishing five trial sites within the existing complement of Garda youth division projects to help determine whether the approach advanced in the baseline report adds to project effectiveness; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13705/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The youth justice trial site project commenced in July 2009 and will conclude before the end of 2010. The 5 trial sites are :-

The TACT Project, Togher, Cork

SUB Project, Birr, Co. Offaly

Woodale Project, Dublin 17

JAY Project, Tallaght, Dublin

The Junction Project, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway

This project involves the development of prototype projects to provide leadership to the remaining 95 Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) in terms of best practice in service planning aimed at reducing youth crime. The Irish Youth Justice Service and the Garda Office for Children and Youth Affairs are coordinating the project.

These trial sites are engaged in a detailed process of evidence based service design. This involves a detailed analysis of local youth crime in cooperation with An Garda Síochána and a clear response from each GYDP demonstrating how its interventions will impact youth crime in the community it serves. Understanding the specific patterns of youth crime in any given community will greatly assist in devising strategies to reduce offending behaviour. Interventions will be designed and deployed to respond directly in interrupting these patterns of youth offending, taking account of the most up-to-date available research evidence.

The learning from the 5 prototype services will be disseminated across GYDPs across the country and should lead to a more general improvement in outcomes for this important crime prevention investment. Each of the 5 GYDPs in this trial site project has agreed to subject itself to this process and implement any findings within its existing resources. The trial site project is just one of the recommendations to improve the effectiveness of GYDPs which came out of the baseline analysis published in July 2009. The other recommendations relate to improved knowledge and capacity across all projects and improvements to the annual business planning format. The implementation of these recommendations is well advanced. I am satisfied that this change programme will deliver improvements in project effectiveness. Progress will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. In addition a detailed evaluation exercise will be undertaken in early 2011. These developments will also be monitored by the National Youth Justice Strategy Oversight Group.