Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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43. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if the professional standards unit of An Garda Síochána is carrying out a review of or a report on the juvenile diversion programme; if the volume and details of cases recorded manually match those recorded in PULSE; if so, when his attention was drawn to this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44294/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware the statutory framework relating to young offenders and the Garda Diversion Programme is set out in the Children Act 2001. The Act essentially provides that a young person who is responsible for committing a crime shall be considered for admission to the Programme. The Diversion Programme has been very successful in its primary purpose of diverting young offenders away from the criminal justice system.

Where an individual is deemed unsuitable for admission to the programme a prosecution may be pursued, although there may not be sufficient evidence for a prosecution in all such cases. It is very important to note that it would be entirely wrong in principle to include a young person in the Programme where the evidence is not sufficient to mount a prosecution.

The most recent figures available from An Garda Síochána in relation to the number of young people admitted to the Programme are for 2015. 7,282 young people were admitted to the Programme in that year and 1,479 were deemed unsuitable for the Programme.

The former Garda Commissioner initiated, as part of the Garda Professional Standard Unit’s (GPSU) work programme for 2015, an examination of the practices and procedures in place at the Garda Youth Diversion Office (GYDO) in relation to the operation of the Garda Youth Diversion Programme.

Earlier this year, the GPSU examination identified a number of issues impacting on the effective administration of the Youth Diversion Programme including:

- Some Pulse incident Youth Referral records not being updated in a timely manner thereby preventing the GYDO from processing these cases.

- Youth Referral cases not being assigned to a Juvenile Liaison Officer Garda in accordance with policy.

- A lack of follow through to prosecution in cases where young persons were deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the Diversion Programme.

Given the GPSU's findings, An Garda Síochána has commenced a comprehensive review of all youth referrals between 2010 and 2017, and a report on the matter is being prepared for the information of the Commissioner. The Deputy will appreciate that, in these circumstances, I do not have details of any examination of relevant PULSE records.

I am advised that the Policing Authority, which oversees An Garda Siochana, is aware of the issues identified by the GPSU.

The Garda Youth Diversion Programme is an important part of Government policy in relation to tackling youth crime and I am sure the Deputy will agree that we all want to see it operating effectively.