Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The best way for an offender to make amends to a community is through community service. The Probation Service is involved in extensive engagement in this area. The effect of the community service orders legislation was evident in the final quarter of 2011 when it became apparent that there had been a substantial increase in the making of community service orders. I welcome the latter development. It will be interesting to see what will be the pattern for 2012 in its entirety. I expect there will be a similar increase as the courts become used to the new legal arrangements that are in place.

The establishment of a new community court, even on a pilot basis, would require additional resources. I am operating a Department which has €100 million less available to it for 2012. For a community court to operate successfully, there would be a need for multidisciplinary staff with particular expertise to be employed because it would otherwise be a community court in name only. Unfortunately, I do not currently possess the resources to allow me to employ additional people in that context.

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