Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The difficulty is that the biggest expansions in youth services in my area have been led by the Department of Justice, rather than the Department of children. The difficulty in that regard is that the Department of Justice and the Garda diversion programme is very much aimed at those children who need direct intervention but one always has to be aware that there are kids who are not engaged in diversionary projects and they deserve a service as well. It sends a bad signal when there are more services, resources and opportunities available for young people who are in trouble than for young people who are not. There needs to be more engagement between the Department of Justice and Mr. McCarthy's Department. They both are invested in the same space. They have different focuses but there needs to be much greater integration between the two Departments. In some cases, new youth workers are employed in new areas but at the same time the Department of children might have no youth service in that area. There needs to be much greater integration between the two Departments.