Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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291. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the breakdown of spending under the Irish Youth Justice Service community programmes budget for 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44223/19]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The statutory framework relating to young offenders and the Garda Diversion Programme is set out in the Children Act 2001. The nationwide network of Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) is supported by my Department.

GYDPs are community based, multi-agency, crime prevention initiatives which primarily seek to divert young people who have become involved in criminal or anti-social behaviour. They aim to support young people to develop and mature through positive interventions and interactions with a local project. GYDPs provide a range of education and training programmes e.g. academic support, IT, employment preparation and specific job training.

Since 2015, GYDPs have been co-funded under the Programme for Employability Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) of the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014-2020.

My Department is pursuing an ambitious programme for the future development of GYDP services, working closely with community organisations and with expert support from the Research Evidence into Policy Programmes and Practice project in the University of Limerick.

The budget and breakdown of expenditure on GYDPs to date in 2019 is set out in the table below.