Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Much of what I had intended to ask has been covered. I noticed a couple of issues under the heading A1, on capital works. It is understandable that this year there has been a huge reduction in the level of funding, from almost €20 million last year to just under €5 million this year. I assume that Covid and the restrictions on construction are having an impact, and we would expect that to be the case. Nevertheless, I am interested in Hammond Lane, the family court project. Does the Minister have an indication as to when that will be finished and operational? I accept that Covid has messed up everything but I would like to have a timeframe for when she expects, all things being equal, the project to be finished.

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority was set up recently and funding has been given to it. Some of the authority is operational and some of it is not. It is an area on which I have received complaints from members of the public and others to say they are not getting the response, turnaround or engagement they would like. I draw the Minister's attention to that. Perhaps something could be done about it.

The next issue I raise crosses over all the budgets and I am not sure where it falls. It relates to the joint agency response to crime project. When people are being released from prison and return to the community, there are liaison officers who work with them. The Probation Service, the Garda and the Prison Service work together and ensure that the pattern of people from deprived communities coming out of prison and going back in before long, a life cycle that unfortunately many people have experienced, can be broken if the proper intervention is made. The joint agency response project has proven to be reasonably impactful in that regard. What plans are there to expand and extend it and to make it the norm in those circumstances? How much additional funding is being provided for it and how much will it take to make it the norm in all cases?