Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1559. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if there are legislative plans to enact stricter penalties on young offenders to curb the rise in youth crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19297/25]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1560. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if there are plans to offer youth diversion courses in the varying communities of Ireland to turn young people away from crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19298/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1559 and 1560 together.

Through the Programme for Government and the Youth Justice Strategy, I am committed to improving outcomes for young people at risk of a life of criminality through investment in youth justice services.

The Children Act 2001 provides the legislative framework for youth justice in Ireland. The Act provides for a criminal justice regime appropriate to the particular needs of children and facilitates their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

The Garda Youth Diversion Programme is provided for in the Act. The Diversion Programme is supported by a network of Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs). YDPs are community-based multi-agency crime prevention initiatives, which seek to divert young people who have become involved in crime/anti-social behaviour and to support wider preventative work within the community and with families at risk.

It is important to note that diversion does not mean avoiding consequences. Rather, a diversion system can provide a second chance and enable people to avoid prosecution, and a criminal record.

YDPs aim to bring about the conditions whereby the behavioural patterns of young people towards law and order can develop and mature through positive interventions and interaction with the project. They are primarily targeted at 12-17 year old “at risk” youths in communities where a specific need has been identified and where there is a risk of them remaining within the justice system.

Funding for YDPs and other Youth Justice measures has increased substantially in recent years, from €18 million in 2020 to a total allocation of just over €36 million in Budget 2025. This will facilitate an increase in the availability of YDP services in the evenings and at the weekends when many young people need them the most, as well as an increase in supports for families, interventions for typically hard-to-reach young people and early interventions for 8-11 year olds who may be at increased risk of becoming engaged in criminal activity.

Considerable progress has been made to extend the YDP network throughout the State. Two new YDPs have been approved for East Clare and North Tipperary. Once these new projects are up and running there will be full nationwide YDP coverage, ensuring any child who needs access to their service can get it, no matter what part of the country they are in.

While the emphasis of the Government’s Youth Justice Strategy is on diverting young people from crime, it is important to recognise that some offending is so serious that a custodial response is necessary and the law provides that, where absolutely necessary, penalties available for offences by committed by children may be as severe as those for adults.