Minister of State Niall Collins launches new Youth Diversion Projects for East Clare and North Tipperary
- Foilsithe:
- An t-eolas is déanaí:
- DERG Youth Diversion Project launched, serving communities in East Clare and North Tipperary
- Launch marks continued expansion of Youth Diversion Projects under the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027
The Minister of State with responsibility for Youth Justice, Niall Collins, today officially launched the DERG Youth Diversion Project (YDP), which will deliver enhanced supports to young people and families in East Clare and North Tipperary.
The DERG YDP represents a significant expansion of youth justice services in the region, following the amalgamation of the existing DEN YDP and the newly established East Clare YDP in late 2025.
The project will operate from two bases in Nenagh and Killaloe and serve a catchment area with a population of approximately 62,750 people.
YDPs work with young people who are at risk of becoming involved in anti-social or criminal behavior, supporting them to make positive choices and stay out of the criminal justice system.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Collins said:
“This is an important day for this community and a significant moment for youth justice services. Today marks the day of a strengthened Youth Diversion Project that will provide critical supports to young people and families across a wide are in East Clare and North Tipperary.
“One of the most important things that YDPs do is help to strengthen the relationship between young people and their families. They help young people to gain a sense of civic responsibility and positive engagement with their communities.
“So today as we officially launch the DERG Youth Diversion Project, we are doing more than just opening a new service. We are strengthening our community response to youth offending and we are supporting and guiding children who need help and opportunity.”
The DERG YDP is operated by Foróige and is funded by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.
For 2026, the project received €570,037 to support a team of eight Youth Justice workers delivering a range of targeted interventions.
The most common offences included theft, criminal damage, assault and traffic-related offences.
Minister Collins added:
“This project has been launched in the context of the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, which sets out the Governments vision for youth justice in Ireland. It prioritises prevention, diversion, family support and rehabilitation.
“A key commitment of Government is the expansion of the YDP network, to ensure their services are available to every young person who needs them.
“I am delighted that with today’s launch we have now achieved full nationwide coverage of YDPs.”
This project will help to deliver early intervention supports for children aged 8 to 11 who are at risk of future involvement in anti-social behavior, alongside dedicated family support services, reflecting the expanded remit of YDPs under the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027.
The DERG YDP will work in close partnership with An Garda Síochána, local schools, community organisations and other statutory services to deliver a coordinated response to youth offending in the region.
ENDS…///
Notes to Editor
The Youth Diversion Programme is provided for in the Children’s Act 2001. The Diversion Programme is supported by a network of Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs).
The Garda Youth Diversion Programme is provided for in the Children’s Act 2001. The 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/anti-social behaviour and to support wider preventative work within the community and with families at risk.
YDPs aim to bring about the conditions whereby the behavioural patterns of young people towards law and order can develop and mature through positive interventions and interaction with the project. They are primarily targeted at 12-17 year old “at risk” youths in communities where a specific need has been identified and where there is a risk of them remaining within the justice system.
The objectives of the YDP are to:
- promote focused and effective interventions to challenge and divert young people from offending behaviour
- utilise YDP resources in areas of greatest need and to establish effective crime prevention supports in co-operation with other youth service providers nationwide
- actively promote crime prevention policy through focussed educational interventions influencing positive development of young people towards becoming responsible citizens.
As per the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027, the existing mandate for YDPs has expanded and all YDPs will be required to undertake early intervention work with 8 to 11 year olds who are at risk of engaging in criminality or anti-social behaviour later in life, provide tailored support to the families of their participants, support schools to retain YDP participants in the education system, and conduct outreach work with those children and young people who have been identified as harder-to-reach.
Funding for these interventions is based on evidence that diverting young offenders from the criminal justice system, and preventative work with young people at risk, is to their long-term benefit and that of society as a whole.
