Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The statutory Youth 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 or antisocial behaviour and to support wider preventative work within the community and with families at risk.

There are currently nine YDPs in operation across County Cork as outlined below.

• Bandon YDP
• Cloyne Mobile YDP
• Cork City East YDP
• Cork City Northside YDP
• Cork City South YDP
• Feabhas YDP
• Mallow YDP
• West Cork YDP
• Youghal YDP

Each of these YDPs do invaluable work both for the young people who participate in the projects and for their communities more broadly.

In 2024, YDPs in County Cork engaged with a total of 436 participants at risk of participating in or engaged in criminality.

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

Additional funding of €7.3 million has been allocated under Budget 2026 for Youth Justice initiatives.

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.

It will also facilitate 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.

The programmes offered by YDPs provide participants between the ages of 12 and 17 years with suitable activities to facilitate their personal development. They promote civic responsibility and encourage pro-social behaviour in their communities. In addition, the programmes aim to improve educational outcomes and long-term employability prospects.

These opportunities are intended to allow young people to reflect on and challenge their past behaviour. They help to enhance participant's capacity to regulate their emotions and resolve conflict. In addition, the programmes support the development of positive and appropriate relationships with peers.