Posted by The Probation Service’s annual report said there were 609 referrals for children aged between 12 and 17 in 2024.
6.01am, 5 Aug 2025
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THE NUMBER OF children referred to the Irish Probation Service last year was the highest in ten years.
According to the Probation Service’s annual report, there were 609 referrals for children aged between 12 and 17 in 2024. This is a 10% increase on the previous year, and higher than any other time since 2015.
Some 567 boys and 42 girls were referred for probation, which sees a sentence for a crime served in the community under the supervision of a probation officer, rather than in custody.
The figures echo other findings which show a significant increase in teenagers committing crime.
Minister for Children Norma Foley recently rejected claims that Oberstown Children’s Detention facility is experiencing ‘dangerously low staffing levels’, after a serious incident there in June left nine staff members injured.
In February, The Journal reported that judges were unable to send a number of alleged child offenders to Oberstown because it is at full capacity.
The Probation Service, which is part of the Department of Justice, works with offenders and the courts service to help change offender behaviour and reintegrate them back into society.
According to the report, there were 764 new court referrals to the service in relation to ‘young people’ – defined as those aged under 18, and those aged 18 and over who were allocated to Young Persons Probation to ensure an age and need-appropriate response.
There were 690 supervision orders granted to young people last year. Supervision orders can refer to various types of court-ordered supervision and may be imposed in addition to or alongside other sentences.
Of these, 333 were orders for supervision while a penalty was deferred. Some 291 were probation orders, which places a person under the supervision of a probation officer, while 35 were community service orders.
Minister of State at the Department of Justice Niall Collins, who has special responsibility for youth justice, said the report highlights the increased demand for Young People’s Probation (YPP) services.
“We are committed to improving outcomes for young people at risk of a life of criminality, and the work highlighted by the Probation Service in their annual report underlines their vital importance to the success of our youth justice system,” he said.
The service dealt with a total of 17,150 offenders – both adults and children – in the community last year, the highest level on record.
It also worked with 3,521 offenders in prison in 2024, up 11% on the previous year. There were also 9,720 court referrals to the service last year, a 5% increase on 2023.
The offences which resulted in the most referrals to the service were theft (18.5%), assault (17.4%), drug offences (16.1%), public order offences (9.9%), road traffic offences (7.5%), and burglary (5.7%).
The Probation Service managed 1,723 community service orders last year, an increase of 6.8% on 2023.
Some 222,245 hours of community service – which is the equivalent of 856 years in prison – were ordered in lieu of a custodial sentence in 2024. This resulted in over €2.8 million worth of unpaid work.
The duration of the most frequently imposed community service order last year was 40-70 hours, while the duration of the most frequently imposed probation order was 12 months.
Mark Wilson, the director of the Probation Service, said that while prison capacity, rising court referrals, and the increasing complexity of client needs continue to pose a challenge, “I am confident that we enter 2025 in a stronger position as a service”.
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