The number of children prosecuted for criminal offences has dropped by 41 per cent over the past decade, according to new figures.
In 2009, the Director of Public Prosecutions instructed 601 cases to go to court where the suspect was under 18.
According to details released under the Freedom of Information Act, this dropped to 354 last year and 342 so far in 2019.
The stats relate to the main charge a suspect faced so don't include multiple charges.
The figures also showed that 61 children have faced prosecution for sexual offences over the past three years.
Ian Power from SpunOut.ie, who's from Waterford, welcomes the reduction in prosecutions:
"I think it's really encouraging to see the trend of young people being prosecuted reducing by such a magnitude. I think it confirms what we know, that the Garda Youth Diversion Projects that are happening around the country are having the impact that we want them to have."
