Written answers
Thursday, 2 October 2025
Department of Justice and Equality
Departmental Strategies
Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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374. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the membership of the National Governance and Strategy Group that was to be established under the National Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027; the number of times this group has met to date; the situation with respect to the mid-term review of the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52880/25]
Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department published the Youth Justice Strategy in 2021. The Strategy provides a national developmental framework to pursue more effective engagement, collaboration and community support related to youth offending and the factors underlying it.
The Youth Justice Governance and Strategy Group provides leadership and oversight of the implementation of the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, and key programme initiatives including the Bail Supervision Scheme, Greentown, and Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs). Implementation of the Youth Justice Strategy includes objectives to address the offending of young adults up to the age of 24.
The Governance and Strategy Group has direct oversight of the work of the Youth Justice Oversight Group (YJOG), regularly reviewing updates and making strategic policy and governance decisions, where appropriate. The Governance and Strategy Group meets at least 3 times a year and has met 18 times so far. Two of these meetings took place during the Strategy’s development and sixteen further meetings have been arranged since the launch of the Strategy in 2021.
The Youth Justice Governance and Strategy Group is comprised of representatives from:
- Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
- An Garda Síochána.
- Child and Family Agency (Tusla).
- Department of Children, Disability and Equality.
- Department of Education and Youth.
- Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
- Department of Health.
- Irish Prison Service.
- Oberstown Detention Campus.
- Probation Service.
- REPPP (Research Evidence into Policy, Programmes and Practice).
Important priorities in the Youth Justice Strategy include the development of Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs), which are directly funded by my Department, to include targeted work with ‘harder-to-reach’ young people. This includes young people heavily involved in crime and anti-social behaviour, for whom there is a lack of appropriate supports and interventions in practice, unless they are before the courts, in which case they may be under the supervision of the Probation Service. The Strategy also prioritises early intervention work, including with younger children who are assessed as being at serious risk. Both these cohorts may include children at risk of recruitment by crime gangs.
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