Press release
Minister of State James Browne visits Dundalk Youth Diversion Projects
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Published on
Last updated on
Minister of State with responsibility for Youth Justice, James Browne TD, this morning visited two Youth Diversion Projects in Dundalk - Muirhevnamor Community Youth Project and Cox’s Demesne Youth & Community Project CLG - in order to see first-hand the work that they do helping and educating young people in the local area.
Both of these Youth Diversion Projects are managed by local community groups and have been a vital resource in Dundalk for many years. This has been particularly the case during the COVID-19 pandemic as they conducted outreach work and continued to keep in touch with their participants throughout the various lockdowns.
Thanking both Muirhevnamor Community Youth Project and Cox’s Demesne Youth & Community Project CLG for their contribution, Minister Browne said:
"The past 18 months or so have been challenging for everyone and nowhere is that more true than with youth diversion projects. But both of the projects here in Dundalk have gone above and beyond to ensure that they can continue to help vulnerable children in the town.
"Youth crime and anti-social behaviour have a detrimental impact on our communities and there are significant challenges for An Garda Síochána and other agencies and service providers in responding to these concerns. The work these projects do is invaluable in tackling these problems."
Children who commit crimes are prosecuted only as the last resort, with diversion into the statutory Garda Youth Diversion Programme being the default option except in the case of serious crimes, or serious repeat offending. The statutory Garda Youth Diversion Programme is managed and supported by a network of over 100 Youth Diversion Projects, each of which is managed by a community-based organisation (CBO), which may be a youth services or a local community resource centre.
The commitments in the Youth Justice Strategy include enhancing and strengthening the role of YDPs and extending the service to a number of areas not already covered so as to ensure that the service is available throughout the State within the next two years.
A copy of the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-27 can be downloaded here - https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/3670e-youth-justice-strategy-2021-2027/