By: Minister of State with responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice; James Browne
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Good morning everyone,
It is my great pleasure to be able to speak with you all today in my role as Minister of State with responsibility for youth justice.
All of us are here together this morning because of our shared passion for, and belief in, the young people of Ireland.
It is fitting that we are meeting today in Croke Park. Every All-Ireland Final day, the winners invariably take time to thank those who helped them on their way. They recall the support of their underage coaches and the guidance they provided as a bedrock of their success. The GAA, much like Youth Diversion Programmes, creates a space for our youth to flourish and achieve goals that very often they themselves did not think possible. It has been my privilege to be welcomed to so many Youth Diversion Projects and Youth Workers to see the tremendous and vital work being done across the country.
At the heart of this work is a shared belief that every child in Ireland deserves a chance to live a happy and fulfilling life.
I would like to extend a sincere thanks to those projects who have been so generous in sharing their time and experiences with me and I look forward to visiting with many more projects in the future.
Everyone here today who is involved in these projects understands that youth justice is a complex and wide-ranging issue. We all know that there is no quick-fix solution to directing young offenders away from a life of crime. However, I am sure you will all agree that Youth Diversion Programmes offer a responsive, empathetic path towards a better life for so many.
While this work is challenging, it is also vitally important and immensely rewarding. In communities the length and breadth of the country there is extraordinary work done by ordinary people to give renewed hope to some of the most vulnerable people in society.
Our shared goal is for these interventions to not only divert them away from a life of criminality, but to show a new path forward in their life to stay away from it permanently.
Before I speak more on the positive impact of YDPS, I would like to welcome staff from Gaisce – The President’s Award to the conference today.
We are exploring opportunities to collaborate with Gaisce, to ensure that more young people in youth diversion projects have the opportunity to undertake this valued, non-formal educational award programme. This new partnership is a positive step towards supporting young people to enhance their personal development and well-being.
As part of this new initiative, the department is committed to supporting the cost of registrations for Gaisce Awards from 2024. This is an important investment, and will significantly help to reduce the barriers to participation by young people in the projects.
Further details on this will be shared over the coming months, but essentially, the department will support the cost of YDP participants’ participation in Gaisce and there will be a budget available for this purpose to which YDPs can apply.
Please take some time to have a chat with the Gaisce team today, and find out more about how this award programme can benefit your project.
Earlier this year my department published a report on the Evaluation of YDPs. This evaluation has helped to provide a deeper understanding of the impacts of our Youth Diversion Projects – to appreciate their benefits and offer insights on what improvements can still be made.
The evaluation highlighted many existing strengths of YDPs, and the personnel working in these projects were recognised as being exceptionally important....
It found that they are experienced, highly-qualified and report strong levels of satisfaction in their work.
So many of you are here today and I am always immensely proud and thankful of the tremendous work each of you do for the young people of this country.
The report showed clear evidence that the work you do is having hugely positive impacts on these young people, their families and their communities.
The evaluation identified decreasing risk levels among participants in respect of peer relations, leisure and recreation, personality and behaviour, and attitudes and orientation.
It showed that young people who engage with YDPs were less involved in criminal or antisocial behaviour, had improved self-confidence and communication skills, had increased happiness, and an overall improved sense of hope.
It is a clear reflection of the life-changing work people across the country are doing to create pathways for young people away from a life of crime.
The report has made a number of valuable recommendations for areas of improvement relating to governance, access to administrative data, YDP budgets and interventions around substance misuse and crime.
A key area for improvement that was identified was the need for increased level of services at weekends.
Many YDPs throughout the country already cater to the local needs of their communities by providing services late at night and at weekends where appropriate.
The record budgetary allowance allocated for Youth Justice this year will allow for the increase of this availability.
These findings present us with an opportunity to further develop and future-proof the structures and processes for Youth Diversion Projects.
I look forward to considering and progressing those recommendations contained in the report as we move forward.
My department remains totally committed to expanding our network of existing YDPs to ensure full nationwide coverage. The current network, of over 100 YDPs, is extensive, but we will continue to develop it further to ensure every child who could benefit from these services is reached.
I am delighted to say that a further 4 YDPs are due to be established by the end of this year as part our commitment to expanding these services. An additional 2 YDPs will be established as part of the collaborative commissioning pilots we are establishing in six identified areas.
Our commitment to youth justice is further emphasised by the increase in funding for youth justice services in Budget 2024. The 10% increase on last year brings the total to an unprecedented sum of over €33 million.
This increase in funding will allow us to achieve our goal of full nationwide coverage for Youth Diversion Projects for the first time.
Likewise this increase will fund more measures targeted at supporting families, working with schools and those youths who have proven harder to engage, as well as those vulnerable children between the ages of 8 and 11.
This funding will be deployed with the assistance of the best available research and expert evidence to keep young people away from crime.
Every cent we invest into building better outcomes for young people, and diverting them away from the criminal justice system, pays back in spades.
Every young person deserves the opportunity to improve their quality of life and our commitment to expanding services and increasing funding similarly reflects our commitment to these young people.
This commitment is a central point of our Youth Justice Strategy, launched in 2021, which provides a developmental framework to address key challenges and emerging issues in the youth justice area. A mid-term review of progress after three years will commence next year. I am sure that that review will allow for further reflection in line with today’s theme of ‘New pathways through Ireland’.
As set out in the Youth Justice Strategy, we will continue to work collectively to identify best practices for collaborative service delivery, based on the “no wrong door” principle, centred on the needs of children and young people who are most at-risk.
The Strategy acknowledges the importance of Early Intervention and Family Support programmes for children at risk, as well as access to appropriate Education, Training and Youth Services.
It also includes a number of key objectives aimed at promoting positive behavioural change. It is only by targeting this behaviour that we can break the cycle of young people reoffending.
Both the Programme for Government and the Youth Justice Strategy include actions to establish diversion-based responses for young 18-24 adults.
Last year, I published a discussion paper on diverting these young adults away from entry into the wider criminal justice system.
This year, a public consultation on diverting these young adults has been held and my department is preparing for an open policy forum at the end of this month.
This will provide a further opportunity for consultation and engagement with stakeholders on this issue and will include expert speakers, discussion groups and feedback.
We know from international research that a number of factors place young adults in this age group at a higher risk of becoming involved in criminal behaviour.
It is important to reach out to this age group and ensure they recognise they will not be abandoned and left to fend for themselves when they become young adults.
All of this work in the area of youth justice is central to this government’s commitment to building stronger, safer communities.
Everyone in Ireland has the right to be safe and feel safe. Youth Diversion is not about young people avoiding punishment or consequences. It is about recognising that many people who stray from the path need guidance and support to get their lives back on track.
We want to increase community safety by reducing future offending and keeping people at risk of offending away from crime.
The new Local Community Safety Partnerships are another key element to my department’s commitment to community safety.
Three innovative pilot schemes were set up in Longford, Waterford and Dublin’s North East Inner City in 2020. These partnerships bring together community representatives and state agencies to create dialogue and develop tailored plans to each community’s individual needs.
Our approach to community safety recognises that it is not just the responsibility of An Garda Síochána but of the wider community as a whole. This is also the case for youth justice.
The evaluation report highlighted the characteristics of Youth Diversion Projects that are likely to work best and complement Local Community Safety Partnerships.
These were that they are embedded in their community; respond to local needs; are delivered by experienced and well-educated personnel and, crucially, that they provide an accessible service that young people want to engage with.
I have been fortunate enough to spend time with many YDPs across Ireland in my time as Minister of State and I can definitively say I have seen these qualities in abundance.
The government’s commitment to helping the young people who need it has been reflected in our allocations of funding and resources to expand this network.
But none of this would be possible without the incredible work and commitment of so many of you to give these people a chance to live a better life.
The American writer E.E. Cummings wrote that “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. You have to be willing to stand up to the people who told you that you can’t or shouldn’t do something.”
Each of you provide that support for our young people to stand up and say “I can achieve, I will make something of my life”.
I thank you all again for your continued efforts and I look forward to being able to see it first-hand again in the future.
Thank you.