Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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27. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the actions that her Department is taking, including legislative action to break the link between gangland criminals and children they try to recruit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25983/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that tackling organised criminal gangs and diverting children away from criminal activity is a key priority for the Government and an ongoing priority for An Garda Síochána. The exploitation of young people and children is a particular concern.

I am very conscious of the repercussions that criminal activity can have on the quality of life for residents in local communities and particularly the children targeted for recruitment into gangs. It is important that people of all ages feel safe and are safe in their communities.

As the Deputy will be aware, while an adult may be prosecuted for a crime which has been committed by a child who has been incited to do so by the adult, there is currently no mechanism in law for explicitly recognising the damage done to the child.

The Programme for Government commits to developing a law which would take account of this and penalise adults for the exploitation and harm done to the child in such cases. Justice Plan 2022 contains several actions under the objective to divert young people away from crime and anti-social behaviour. A specific priority is the action to publish new criminal legislation by the end of Quarter 4 that will deal with adults who groom children into criminal activity.

It should be noted that this is a complex area as in many cases the adult in question is known to the child and may in some cases even be a family member, causing potential issues with regard to witness testimony.

In parallel to legislative action, my Department will continue to roll out the community intervention programme, 'Greentown', which seeks to break the link between children who are engaged or at risk of engaging with a criminal gang. As part of the wider Greentown project, targeted interventions are to be piloted to further protect children in Ireland from becoming involved in criminal networks.

The introduction of new criminal legislation to break the link between gangland criminals and children they try to recruit will form part of a broad suite of legislative measures to tackle criminal gangs that have been introduced in recent years, such as:

- The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016, which provides additional Garda powers for the immediate seizure of assets suspected of being the proceeds of crime to prevent them being disposed of;

- The Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014, providing for the establishment and operation of the DNA database providing Gardaí with links between people and unsolved crimes;

- The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, introduced to protect the justice system from being subverted by criminal groups, including potential intimidation of juries.

With regard to broader issues of youth justice, the Deputy may also wish to note that the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 identifies a wide range of related and complementary measures and programmes which can assist young people in making positive life choices and avoiding repeated involvement with the criminal justice system. Significantly, the strategy commits to broadening the Youth Diversion Programme (YDP) service so that every child or young person who would benefit from this service may do so, primarily through the expansion of the geographical coverage of the existing network of 105 YDPs, but also through the establishment of a small number of new projects where a need is identified. 

As the Deputy will be aware, YDPs operate as a vital support to the statutory Garda Diversion Programme in cooperation with local Gardaí. My Department funds the operation of all 105 YDPs across the State at present, which are operated by community-based organisations.