Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)

With the permission of the House, I will share time with Deputies Seamus Healy, Thomas Pringle, Mattie McGrath and Clare Daly.

I acknowledge the work of the Oireachtas Library and Research Service in compiling a digest and information on the Bill. In that digest, I read that it is estimated that a community service order costs just over €4,000 per offender, while an alternative prison sentence costs approximately €27,000. Statistics from abroad seem to confirm this. In the United Kingdom it has been established that a community service order costs 5% of the total cost of keeping someone in prison for one year. The figure for New Zealand is also 5%. Even allowing for some adjustment in these figures, there is a very strong economic argument in favour of supporting community service instead of a custodial sentence of 12 months or less. A further point from the research is that short prison sentences are not a deterrent and do not contribute to rehabilitating the offender. This is due to the limited length of stay in prison because the prisoner does not have sufficient access to the services that could have an effect on rehabilitation. However, that presupposes that there are adequate services available in prison to play a role in rehabilitating prisoners and preventing recidivism. Where savings are made with the Bill, I hope they will go towards enhancing services and resources for prisoners in order that those serving longer sentences will have a real chance to turn their lives around. A considerable proportion of those in Mountjoy Prison come from certain parts of the constituency of Dublin Central which I represent. We know very well what contributes to these men and women being there. No sooner are they out than they are back again. That revolving door must be stopped, even if only for economic reasons.

I like the fact that the Bill compels judges to consider community service as a sentence in cases in which a sentence of 12 months or less is an option. Where this is being considered, notice must be given to the Probation Service which will create an assessment report for the court. This report is to be quite detailed and include information on the family and lifestyle of the offender, if there are addiction issues, the attitude of the offender and whether there is an acknowledgement of what he or she has done. The report must be created within 28 days, although this period can be extended. I acknowledge the work of probation officers. However, they are part of the public service and subject to redundancy plans. We cannot reduce their number if this work is to be done properly.

It is also significant that the Irish Penal Reform Trust welcomes this move, while making the point that community service orders are only used where an individual would otherwise receive a custodial sentence. The trust has been consistently calling for greater use of community sanctions when dealing with less serious offences. A community sanction means an offender will continue to work or stay in education and still be with his or her family or community. However, through community service offenders are being given an opportunity to make reparation and perform a service for the community, which is a much more positive step than languishing in an overcrowded prison. More important, community sanctions are demonstrably more effective, with lower levels of reoffending. There is evidence that sentences of less than one year do not work and I know there is a call from the Prison Governors Association in the United Kingdom that they be abolished.

Is community service intended to punish or to rehabilitate? In some countries, the focus of community service has been on educating offenders about the impact of his or her crime on the victim, on the community and on the offender. Some focus has been on the training of offenders in useful skills but central to community service is giving the offender the space to see the harm caused and an opportunity to repair that harm. Community service cannot be a futile, meaningless task; it has to be meaningful, of real value and it must contribute to bringing about a change in behaviour.

I am disappointed to note the only review of community service in this country was carried out in 1999 and it was somewhat negative in saying it was not any more successful than prison in discouraging offenders from committing further crimes. However, more recent evidence from other countries is more positive. Community service seems most effective when the service enables the offender to gain new skills, where the work is of benefit and where there is significant contact between the offender and the community. It will be a challenge to find those services which will be most productive.

I regard community service as part of the system of restorative justice, something I would like to see being considered more. Restorative justice is a powerful tool when used to its optimum as it gives an opportunity for the victim, the offender and the community to meet, to discuss what has happened and the offender is expected to take steps to repair the harm. It is a positive development that the previous Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, approved both the expansion of the Tallaght-based restorative justice service to the Criminal Court and the expansion of the Nenagh community reparation project. Community service is also part of the system of case management used by the Garda Síochána, the diversionary projects and in community sanctions.

I welcome this Bill but if it is to work in bringing about a change in behaviour it has to allow for well organised and meaningful work. I note the examples given by the Minister in his contribution. The bigger picture of prison reform was addressed by Deputy Ó Cuív. Too many people from the same backgrounds and addresses make up the prison population and this is at significant financial cost to the State and also at a significant personal cost to prisoners and their families.

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