Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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241. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in view of the the cost of keeping juvenile offenders in custody, if she is working with the Department of Justice on additional measures over and above the Garda Youth Diversion Projects; if so, if she will outline same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10243/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that there is ongoing policy cooperation between the Minister for Justice and Equality and I regarding our shared goal to minimise the rate of juvenile offending and in relation to youth justice matters generally. The Minister for Justice and Equality has overall responsibility in the area of crime and anti-social behaviour and his Department funds a range of community based responses to youth crime, in particular Garda Youth Diversion Projects (GYDPs) and Young Person Probation Projects (YPP). I see the role of my Department as working in an integrated way to develop strong linkages between all those working in prevention and intervention, developing closer working relationships between the prevention services provided by the Child and Family Agency, and services provided by the Irish Youth Justice Service, which is co-located in my Department, and services in the youth sector which are funded by my Department.

On 3 February 2014, in conjunction with the Minister for Justice and Equality, I launched the Youth Justice Action Plan 2014-2018. The overall mission statement of the Action Plan is to create a safer society by working in partnership to reduce youth offending through appropriate interventions and linkages to services. The Action Plan will form part of the Children and Young People’s Policy Framework (CYPPF) currently being developed in my Department and will also form part of the National Anti-Crime Strategy currently being developed by the Department of Justice and Equality. The High Level Goals of the Plan are as follows: High Level Goal 1: To work together to ensure public confidence in dealing with young people in trouble with the law; High Level Goal 2: To strengthen and develop our evidence base to support more effective policies and services, having regard to the voice of young people; High Level Goal 3: To review and strengthen targeted interventions to reduce offending and divert young people from the criminal justice system; High Level Goal 4: To promote and increase the use of community measures, including restorative justice, for young people who offend; High Level Goal 5: To provide a safe, secure environment and necessary support for detained young people to assist their re-integration into the community.

My Department also provides a range of funding schemes, programmes and supports to the youth sector. This includes provision for the Youth Service Grants Scheme under which funding is made available to support 31 national and major regional voluntary organisations involved in the development and provision of youth programmes and services. Targeted supports for disadvantaged, marginalised and at risk young people are provided through the Special Projects for Youth Scheme, the Young Peoples Facilities and Services Fund Rounds 1 and 2 and Local Drugs Task Force Projects. Young people are provided with a wide range of programmes and activities, which respond to their needs, interests, capacity and age profile. The supports available are complementary to the school system and to other supports in place to assist young people who are marginalised and contribute to addressing a range of issues affecting young people and their communities including early school leaving, unemployment, drug/substance misuse, youth homelessness, and the impact of problems to do with juvenile crime and anti-social behaviour.