Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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85. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to detail the funding provided to youth diversion projects in each of the years 2012 to 2024, in tabular form. [26426/24]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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87. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of young people supported by youth diversion projects in each of the years 2012 to 2023, in tabular form. [26428/24]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 87 together.

Every young person deserves the opportunity to improve their quality of life and our commitment to expanding youth justice services and increasing funding reflects our commitment to young people. This commitment is a central point of our Youth Justice Strategy, launched in 2021, which provides a developmental framework to address key challenges and emerging issues in the youth justice area.

A top priority is the expansion and deepening of the services offered to young people by the Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs), which are fully funded by the Department of Justice. YDPs are community based, multi-agency youth crime prevention initiatives which primarily seek to divert young people who have been, or are at risk of becoming, involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour. On average the YDPs engage with between 3,500 and 4,000 young people across the country in any one year. These projects provide an invaluable support to complement the work of An Garda Síochána in addressing youth crime and protecting local communities.

The tables below outline the funding allocations for the YDPs and the number of participants in the YDPs per year.

FUNDING ALLOCATIONS PER YEAR 2012 - 2024 (in millions of euro)

Actual drawdown may differ due to budgetary requirements. Allocations include once off Capital Grants.

NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PER YEAR 2012 - 2023

This increase in funding will also allow us to achieve our goal of full nationwide coverage for YDPs for the first time. This funding will be deployed with the assistance of the best available research and expert evidence to keep young people away from crime.

We know from international research that a number of factors place young adults in this age group at a higher risk of becoming involved in criminal behaviour. It is important to reach out to this age group and ensure they recognise they will not be abandoned and left to fend for themselves when they become young adults.

All of this work in the area of Youth Justice is central to this Government’s commitment to building stronger, safer communities. The Government’s commitment to helping the young people who need it has been reflected in our allocations of funding and resources to expand this network.