asked the Minister for Justice if he will state, further to his statements on 28th February at the King's Inns, Dublin, with regard to the probation service whether he has yet appointed the probation administration officer referred to by him; if not, when this appointment will be made; when he expects that the proposed reorganisation of the probation service will be complete; whether, in view of his statement that the Courts had not been placing enough people under probation in the past, he will state how many offenders under probation he considers can be cared for by each probation officer; and how many probation officers it is intended to appoint under the reorganisation scheme.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Probation Officers.
120.
The appointment of a Probation Administration Officer will be made by me as soon as the Civil Service Commissioners have nominated the selected candidate.
I expect that the reorganisation of the probation service by the Probation Administration Officer will take some time but that it should be completed within this year. In addition to the services of the paid staff it is intended to make use of the voluntary services of members of the Saint Vincent de Paul, Legion of Mary and Salvation Army, branches of which have been given statutory formal recognition by me which enables the Courts to place young persons under the supervision of members of these societies. I understand that the recognised societies in question are anxious and most willing to engage in this work and they deserve our very best thanks for this.
The reorganised probation service, under the Probation Administration Officer, will immediately comprise 6 full-time officers of whom it is intended that 2 male and 2 female will be attached to the Children's Court and 1 male and 1 female to the adult Custody Court at Chancery Street. If the need arises I will not hesitate to make additional appointments. Each full-time probation officer should be able to supervise up to 65 persons at any one time, the case-load for each officer being liable to vary, of course, according to circumstances as recommended by the Probation Administration Officer.