Mr. Aaron O'Connell:

The discharge protocol is designed to produce a planned release. That happens with people who have had longer sentences but in the case of early discharges because of prison overcrowding it is quite difficult. Most people who have a chance of being released will tell the authorities that they have somewhere to go and may name a relative but they may not actually go and may not even be welcome there, for many different reasons. They may go to a friend and sleep on the couch or turn up at the door of an emergency accommodation provider. With a planned release, even if someone does not have anywhere to go contact is made between the person in the prison who is dealing with the discharge and local providers. In this case the former will signal that somebody is coming and will try to arrange accommodation for him or her. The difficulty, which certainly applies in the case of Cork Simon, is 100% occupancy and the fact that we do not have anything to offer. If somebody goes to hospital a bed becomes available but that is to firefight the problem. There is a breakdown in the system because housing is an issue. It is a difficulty for everybody, including local authorities who do not have the housing to offer.

Stigma also follows a person in rehabilitation and it is difficult for somebody who has anti-social behaviour in their background to get on a housing programme. The only programme that has been able to circumvent that is the Housing First programme, which provides not just housing but other supports. While everybody has to be conscious of the surrounding community, such supports are very important because they deal with the issues that lead to the situations in which people find themselves. If somebody has an issue around anger and it manifests itself in aggressive behaviour, or mental health issues which do the same, and we do not support them with anger management treatment we will just send them back out with a label they should not have. The idea of rehabilitation and prison reform is that a conviction should not follow somebody throughout their whole life and they should be able to reintegrate themselves into the community and become citizens again in the fullest sense of the word. If the system is set up right the pieces of the jigsaw will all be in place and it will work appropriately and effectively. The housing crisis is a key part of the problem, as is how we manage supports, and dual diagnosis is really important. In prisons, local authorities and health services, including psychiatric services, front-line staff pigeonhole people but we need to see people as whole persons. Assessments have to be holistic and so do support programmes.