Thurles Information

Youth Diversion Project’s Commissioned For North Tipperary will be fully operational by end of this year.

• New scheme will provide assistance to children who appear before the Courts as defendants.
• Some 241 Youth Justice Workers have been trained to date, with 250 out of 300 expected to be trained by end of September.

Today’s event was held in the 4* Absolute Hotel, Limerick. The training was delivered by Victim Support at Court and Solas Youth Diversion Project, who outlined the new system of accompanying young people before the courts as defendants, while providing them with informal support and explanations of ongoing court procedures.

The Department of Justice funds a range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who provide court accompaniment for victims of crime, most notably Victim Support at Court (V-SAC). The role of these NGOs is to explain in layperson’s terms what is happening at the various stages of the proceedings and to be there as a support for the witness.

The role does not include advocacy or representation, as that is the role of the defendant’s legal representative.

Since late 2024, the Department has been progressing work to replicate this service for young defendants via the Youth Diversion Project (YDP) network, through engagement with the Ombudsman for Children, members of the judiciary and the Community Based Organisations responsible for the oversight of various YDPs.

Several YDPs have expressed their interest in being part of the first wave of the scheme’s introduction and are willing to provide this service in various locations throughout the country.

A training package to equip Youth Justice Workers with the necessary knowledge and skills to undertake this work has been jointly developed by V-SAC and the Solas Project and is being offered to interested project staff on a phased basis throughout 2025.

Additionally, both Le Chéile Mentoring (a national volunteer mentoring, restorative justice and family support service) and Oberstown Children Detention Campus representatives have indicated that their staff would benefit from receiving this training and arrangements are now being made for them to participate in future sessions.

Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) are community based, multi-agency youth crime prevention initiatives which divert young people who have been, or are at risk of becoming, involved in anti-social and/or criminal behaviour.

Considerable progress has been made to extend the YDP network throughout the State. Two new YDPs have been commissioned for North Tipperary and East Clare and will be fully operational by end of year which will achieve full nationwide YDP coverage, ensuring any child who needs access to their service can get it, no matter what part of the country they are in.
YDPs receive referrals from a number of sources, including An Garda Síochána, but also from Tusla, schools and other community-based organisations.

Outside of Dublin, many YDPs cover an entire county, which makes it easy to identify the relevant project in a particular area.

Even where this is not the case, the YDP catchment areas tend to correspond with the boundaries of Garda Operational Areas and, as such, An Garda Síochána via the Juvenile Liaison Officer service will be able to advise and make contact with the relevant YDP in each case.

Discussions are also ongoing with An Garda Síochána and the Probation Service, who have expressed an interest in having Juvenile Liaison Officers and Probation Officers participate in this training.

Minister for Justice Mr Jim O’Callaghan welcomes attestation of 154 new Gardaí.

• Attestation of new Gardaí are commended for their commitment to public service.
• 154 Gardaí – 32 women and 122 men – will now be assigned to Garda Divisions across the country.
• New class of 201 Garda recruits to enter the Garda College next week.

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Mr Jim O’Callaghan welcomed the attestation of 154 new Gardaí, from 26 different countries, at a ceremony in the Garda College in Templemore, Co. Tipperary today.
Five who were due to graduate today were suspended and are being investigated for alleged bullying after another recruit was attacked and handcuffed in the showers.
The oldest is a 50-year-old League of Ireland referee from Co Tyrone, Mr Michael Connolly, and the youngest is 19-year-old Ms Hannah Egan who did her Leaving Cert just two years ago.

Speaking at the Garda College, Minister O’Callaghan stated: “We are fortunate in this country that every community wants to see more Gardaí visible in their area. It is one of the most effective measures we have for preventing crime and making people feel safer. Attitudes and approaches to policing must continue to adapt to the world we live in. However, what it means to be a Garda remains the same. Our new Gardaí have made a commitment to public service and to keeping people in their communities safe. I want to thank them for making that commitment and wish them the very best as they begin their careers with An Garda Síochána.”

Of the 154 attesting today, 122 are men and 32 are women and of today’s graduation class, 66 gardaí are to be assigned to the south of the country, including 20 to Cork city.

The new probationer Gardaí will now begin their careers in An Garda Síochána and will be assigned to Garda Divisions across the country by the Garda Commissioner Mr Drew Harris.

This will be the largest allocation of probationer Gardaí to Regions outside of Dublin in the past year, with the majority being assigned to communities in the South and Northwest. 45 of the new Gardaí will be deployed in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, with 66 going to the Southern Region, including 20 Probationer Gardaí each for stations in Limerick City and Cork City respectively.

Minister O’Callaghan added: “I am also extremely pleased that a new class of 201 Garda recruits will enter the Garda College next week to begin their training. An increased and visible Garda presence is central to the government’s aim to build safe and secure communities. The high number of applications for recent Garda recruitment campaigns is evidence of the strong interest that there is to join and serve in An Garda Síochána.
Ensuring An Garda Síochána has the resources it needs is a key priority for me. I look forward to working with the new Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly to further strengthen An Garda Síochána so that it is well placed to deal with the challenges ahead, as per our commitment in the Programme for Government. I also want to take this opportunity today on his last attestation before he retires on September 1st, to once again thank outgoing Garda Commissioner Drew Harris for his hard work, commitment and dedication over the past seven years. He has implemented some of the widest ranging reforms of the organisation in its history and leaves a legacy of tangible improvements”.

The strength of An Garda Síochána now stands at 14,408 sworn officers and Commissioner Harris today presided over his last graduation as Garda Commissioner before newly appointed Mr Justin Kelly takes over officially on September 1st next.