Ms Fíona Ní Chinnéide:

Progress is very slow. We will not know that until we have those statistics. The most recent statistics are the 2010 cohort and their three-year recidivism rate. We are expecting the 2011 and 2012 cohort to be published at the same time. More recently it has crept down a little by a percentage and another percentage over the three years that have been published. More generally, we need to focus on supporting particular age groups from moving on from their offending histories, particularly those in the 18 to 25 age group. We know that for people in that age group the adolescent brain is still in development, they have the highest rates of offending and reoffending but also the greatest capacity for change. It has been said clearly by businesses in the community in England that young people with recent convictions face a triple disadvantage in the employment market. They have no work experience, they do not have access to the same networks older people would have and, on top of that, they have the impact of a convictions history. We definitely must support young people to move on. They use the word "seismic" to describe the difference in a young person getting a job early on in life and moving on and the impact that will have on future decades in their lives. We need to focus on that age group in particular. I acknowledge Ireland has what we believe is an effective and generous provision for offending committed by people aged under 18. We have a system that is very good but it all stops when one commits the offence after the age of 18. Very few of us when we are aged 30, 40 or 50 would want to be judged by our behaviour when we were 18 or 19. We must do more.