Apprenticeships in the catering, construction, motor, sport and horse industries will be offered to young offenders under a new programme just launched by the Minister for Justice.
The scheme will involve the selection of young offenders between 16 and 21, who will participate in a pre-release programme to prepare them for work.
They will undergo a programme under the supervision of the Probation and Welfare Service which will include education, training, esteem building, anger management, addiction treatment and preparation for independent living.
Only then will they undertake work with their sponsored employer. This employer is also expected to provide a mentor on site to keep an eye on the welfare of the former young offender.
The programme has been set up with the help of a number of employers. The employers' group, under the chairmanship of Mr Brendan Butler of IBEC, is made up of Mr Peter Malone of Jury's Hotel Group, Mr Sean Mulryan of Ballymore Properties, Mr Bill Cullen of Renault Ireland, Mr Patrick Dolan of St Patrick's Athletic and Mr Willie Mullins and Mr Jim Bolger, racehorse trainers.
They will promote the scheme within their sectors.
Launching the scheme, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, said he hoped that 30 young people would be placed in the first year, increasing to over 100 within three years. As it developed, he hoped the scheme would become an alternative to prison for young people between the ages of 16 and 21.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform there were 777 young people between the ages of 16 and 21 in the prison system in October. The project, as planned, would involve 4 per cent of them, rising to 12 per cent over three years.
Mr O'Donoghue also said that the Probation and Welfare Service would receive additional resources to focus on a number of areas. This would include placing probation centres and probation and development centres around the State to cater for targeted groups and provide work and skills training directly.
The Minister of State for Children, Mr Frank Fahey, said this initiative would be the start of a much more enlightened approach towards the members of society who did not receive the breaks which many others did.
He told The Irish Times that, before the launch of this initiative, there had been intensive discussions with employers who had tried to employ young offenders before, but who found that this did not work out. This was because they did not receive adequate support, he said.
This scheme would involve very intensive preparation of the young people concerned, over a minimum of six months. Management support would be provided to employers while the young person was in employment with them.