Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 371: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of funding that a youth project (details supplied) in Drogheda, County Louth, receives in funding from the Garda diversion fund; the amount of funding same has received in each of the past five years; the number of community employment staff employed with the project; the number who will be employed from next year on; and how reductions in funding will affect the level of service delivered by this project. [29572/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The project in question is one of a hundred Garda Youth Diversion Projects nationwide. The projects are community-based, multi-agency crime prevention initiatives which seek to divert young people who have been involved in criminal and/or anti-social behaviour or who are at serious risk of such behaviour. The projects, which are funded by the Irish Youth Justice Service and delivered in collaboration with An Garda Síochána and local community / youth organisations, have a clear role in intervening to challenge bad behaviour and to promote good behaviour. They do so by providing suitable activities to facilitate personal development and promote civic responsibility and improve long-term employability prospects.

The following table sets out the funding provided by IYJS to the project in question over the past five years.

Since 2008, IYJS has provided funding to the local youth organisation to directly employ two youth justice workers on this project. The Deputy will be aware that expenditure programmes are being examined in the context of the comprehensive Review of Expenditure currently being undertaken across all Government Departments and Agencies. Accordingly, it would be premature to comment at this stage in relation to the impacts for 2012 until the final position is known.