Ms Anne Costello:

I can respond to the question on prisons. There is certainly more we could do. There is disparity across prisons, with some doing more than others in equipping prisoners with skills to make them more job-ready when they leave prison. We should do more around career guidance. Many people in prison have never had an opportunity to pursue formal education. They have no idea what kind of opportunities they could aspire to.

I have a young man on work experience with me and he has done approximately ten years in prison in all. He is now back studying community and youth work in Maynooth. He said it was never an idea for him but the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed sent people to Coolmine to speak about those possibilities. He is now thriving in college and he will be a really good community worker. That man was not drawn to paving, welding or some of those other jobs but I have met a number of men in prison asking for practical skills. Many of them do not have formal education but they are saying that if they were trained as mechanics, tilers, drivers, or similar jobs, they could fend for themselves when they leave prison. Unfortunately, some of them say they are doing lollipop stick stuff in prison and that does not lead to jobs.