Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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677. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide funding through the youth justice programme to meet the funding shortfall for the big brother big sister scheme in view of the cost effectiveness of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27300/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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My understanding is that the 'Big Brother Big Sister' scheme is one of a number of mentoring models available and is provided in Ireland by Foróige with referrals arising in a number of different contexts.

In so far as my Department is concerned, youth justice crime reduction/crime prevention community programmes are funded through the Community Programmes Unit of the Irish Youth Justice Service (IYJS) and include mentoring components. Youth justice projects are specifically targeted at young offenders and those at serious risk of offending, as opposed to the youth population at large, and are delivered through the Garda Youth Diversion Projects and the Young Persons Probation projects wing of the Probation Service.

There are 100 Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) nationwide. They are community-based, multi-agency, crime prevention initiatives which are designed to engage with and seek to divert young people from becoming involved in or further involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour. They operate in tandem with the Garda Diversion Programme. They 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 12-17 year old "at risk" youths in communities where a specific need has been identified and where there is a risk of them remaining within the justice system. Each project committee, which is chaired by the local Garda District Officer, receives an annual allocation and decides on young people to be targeted and interventions to be used. The approach is supported by a risk assessment of participants designed to identify their needs and to enable a project to use interventions that provide the best possible outcome for the participant. It is a matter for the local project to decide on any intervention and I am aware that the 'Big Brother, Big Sister' programme is available as an intervention tool in this regard.

Young Persons Probation projects for their part provide a variety of interventions, some of which are court ordered, to young people who have come through the court system. This also includes a mentoring support provided under the Mentor Order of the Children Act, 2001 as amended. That particular programme is provided by Le Chéile, a Young Persons Probation project, on a national basis to meet the needs of probation clients.

Having regard to the many demands on the funding available for the youth justice programmes, there are no plans to provide funding along the lines proposed by the Deputy, over and above the existing level of support for youth justice mentoring activity.