Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 November 2023
413. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice her views in regard to the “Working to Change” programme; what plans, if any, she has for continuing it beyond the current timeframe; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52055/23]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that both I and this Government continue to be focused on reducing reoffending including by diverting people, where appropriate, from the criminal justice system and ensuring the underlying causes of offending behaviour are addressed. Part of this is giving people a second chance, an opportunity to build a crime free life, and we know gaining stable employment and being able to provide for their families is a big part of ensuring this happens.
Working to Change: Social Enterprise and Employment Strategy 2021-2023, launched in November 2020, has been an important part of the suite of initiatives being undertaken in this area.
As the Deputy may already be aware this is the second employment-related strategy focusing on those with previous criminal convictions, following on from A New Way Forward: Social Enterprise Strategy 2017-2019.
Building on the work of A New Way Forward, Working to Change identified 46 actions across three pillars relating to three avenues of forms of employment; social enterprises, mainstream employment, and entrepreneurship.
Working to Change provides a whole-systems approach to increasing employment options for people with past convictions that recognises their skills and capabilities leading to active citizenship, safer communities, fewer victims and supporting desistance.
The lifetime of the Working to Change strategy is now coming to an end.
In the first half of 2023, my Department confirmed a follow on strategy is to be developed. To begin this work, in May 2023, the Steering Committee, Chaired by the Director of the Probation Service and composed of representatives from a number of Departments and relevant organisations, asked officials from the Department of Justice, the Probation Service, and the Irish Prison Service to develop proposals for actions to be taken forward under a new strategy.
These officials have conducted extensive consultation with key stakeholders, including individuals with lived experience of the criminal justice system, key organisations working in this space, and officials from other Departments.
The consultation with stakeholders examined the opportunities currently presented in mainstream employment, regarding the shortages in certain sectors of the labour market, which may yield very positive results.
Work remains ongoing towards the development of the successor strategy and the actions of the new strategy are yet to be agreed or approved. However, I can advise the Deputy that it is currently intended to structure the actions of the new strategy from the perspective of the labour market more generally, which includes social enterprises.
The Deputy may also be aware that supports for the social enterprise sector have largely been mainstreamed through the Department of Rural and Community Development’s National Social Enterprise Policy for Ireland 2019-2022. Work on the follow on national social enterprise strategy is progressing, which my Department has contributed to, and officials are ensuring that both this strategy and the criminal justice employment strategy are broadly aligned in relation to social enterprises.
I am looking forward to the outcome of the consultations for this follow on strategy, which I hope to have in place in early 2024.
