Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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74. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the current measures in place to deal with juvenile perpetrators of violent acts against vulnerable children and young persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16893/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Children Act 2001 sets out the framework under which the youth justice system deals with all youth crime. The youth justice system should be considered in its entirety, from the Garda Diversion Programme through to the Children Courts and the Children Detention Schools. It is not a simple question of choice between diversion, community sanctions and detention. The principles of the Children Act 2001 require the various authorities to apply, incrementally, a series of "filters" or tests to each case where a child comes into conflict with the law.

The first main filter is the Garda Diversion Programme. Section 18 of the Children Act 2001, as amended, requires that, unless the interests of society otherwise require, any child who has committed an offence and accepts responsibility for his or her criminal behaviour shall be consider for admission to the Programme. The aim of the Diversion Programme, through the network of Juvenile Liaison Officers is to deal with young people who offend, by way of administering a caution thus diverting the young offender away from the Courts and minimising the likelihood of further offending. The caution may be either a formal caution, which involves supervision by a JLO or an informal caution, generally with no supervision. The process may also include involvement with a Garda Youth Diversion Project. The programme embraces, whenever possible, the principles of restorative justice and takes into account the needs of the victims. The programme has proven to be highly successful in diverting young people away from crime by offering guidance and support to them and their families. In considering whether a young person should be admitted to the Garda Diversion Programme, Section 23(2) of the Children Act sets out that the Director (of the Programme) "shall be satisfied that the admission of the child to the Programme would be appropriate in the best interests of the child and not inconsistent with the interests of society and any victim".

The second main filter is provided by the non-custodial sanctions available to the Courts, including dismissal under the Probation Act and unsupervised sanctions (fines, disqualification, peace bond, curfew etc.). When dealing with a child charged with an offence, the court also must have due regard to the child's best interests, the interests of the victim of the offence and the protection of society. The next stage involves the Probation supervised sanctions (community service and other community sanctions). Finally, as a last resort, detention may be used.