Young people 'being groomed as drug runners for local drug traffickers and gang members'

Cork City projects will also receive money, as will Bandon in Co Cork, where 'a significant amount of Eastern Europeans are residing in Clonakilty, Skibbereen and the adjacent hinterland" and that "a significant number of this population are increasingly coming before the courts'.

Children aged under 10 are being drawn into drug activity, while younger members of the Travelling community are "being led by adults to commit crimes", a new report before the Department of Justice states.

These examples are among the submissions in funding applications for Youth Diversion Projects (YDP), which have welcomed a funding boost of €6.7m to increase work with children who are involved in antisocial and criminal behaviour at an increasingly young age.