Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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1453.To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps her Department is taking to tackle increasing instances of anti-social behaviour by people under the age of 18 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31228/24]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister of State I am committed to ensuring children engaged in criminality, and those at risk of becoming involved in criminality, have the tools they need to make good choices and turn away from offending behaviour. The Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 provides a developmental framework to address key ongoing challenges, as well as new and emerging issues, in the youth justice area.

The Strategy aims to reduce harm in communities (including harm to children and young people) by reducing the numbers of children and young people who engage, or are vulnerable to engagement, in crime and minimise their involvement with the criminal justice system by supporting their personal development.

The Department is actively implementing the Strategy, with a range of actions already underway, including the expansion of the Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) and establishment of a small number of new YDPs, so that every child or young person in the State who could benefit from this service can access it.

As part of Budget 2024, the Department secured a further €2.9m for youth diversion measures which is a 10% increase on 2023, bringing the total budget to over €33m.

As the Deputy will be aware, Youth Diversion Projects (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.

A top priority for my Department is the expansion and deepening of the services offered to young people by the YDPs which are fully funded by my Department. On average, the YDPs engage with about 4,000 young people across the State in any one year.

The current network of 99 YDPs is extensive, but we will continue to develop it further to ensure that every child who needs support is reached.

The four new Youth Diversion Projects announced in 2023 will continue to be rolled out this year with two further new Youth Diversion Projects to be established by the end of 2024, achieving full nationwide availability of these important services.

The Greentown programme was established by the Department of Justice in 2020 with an objective to incorporate the latest scientific thinking into an intervention design, which is specifically focused on improving the outcomes for children at risk of or actively engaged in criminal networks.

The Greentown Programme has been in place in two trial sites since 2021 and has now been extended for a further three years. Each trial site has an annual budget of approximately €500,000 and the intervention is managed by a qualified community based organisation with Department funding

The specified two goals for the programme are:

• To reduce the influence of criminal networks on children at risk of involvement
• To improve the likelihood of extrication and pro-social outcomes for children who are already involved in criminal networks.

• Increasing penalties for knife crime and strengthening the use of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs)
• The deployment of body-worn cameras for Gardaí in Dublin City Centre, Waterford, and Limerick in 2024, with nationwide roll-out to follow
• The introduction of Local Community Safety Partnerships around the country, to develop Community Safety Plans for every area.
• Continued expansion of youth justice and youth diversion measures
• New laws to criminalise the grooming of children into a life of crime.
• Introducing Facial Recognition Technology to help investigate and prosecute cases of serious crime
• Providing the funding necessary to strengthen the equipment available to An Garda Síochána for public order policing, including the deployment of tasers and stronger incapacitant spray.
• Proposing solutions to public order and anti-social problems through the Local Leadership Programme which brings together local stakeholders in a structured manner.