Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 February 2012
88 Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the increases in supports, both in staffing and resources, he will give to the Probation Service to enable it to work with more offenders in the context of his initiatives which attempt to reduce prison numbers coupled with the public sector recruitment embargo. [6523/12]
View answerI understand the Deputy is referring to the introduction of a pilot project, the Community Return scheme, in October, 2011 under which offenders who pose no threat to the community are offered earned early temporary release in return for supervised community service. I understand that the Probation Service has sufficient resources to support the scheme at present. Should additional resources be required, that will of course be considered in due course.
89 Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the civil society organisations or other organisations he has engaged with in the context of the White Paper on Crime process; and the date on which this paper will be published. [6537/12]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that consultation has been central to the development of the White Paper on Crime and was principally structured around four discussion documents. As part of this process my Department has consulted extensively across Government, non-Governmental and community sectors, as well as with individual members of the public. Consultation has taken place both through seminars and written submissions in response to advertisements for submissions. Over the course of the White Paper process, some 650 people attended consultation meetings and 182 submissions were received. Documents summarising the outcomes of each of the four consultation stages of the process are published on the Department's website www.justice.ie and include lists of those organisation and individuals who made written submissions.
I can confirm that work on the development of a White Paper on Crime is at an advanced stage and is expected to be completed this year.
