Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. While I am not surprised, it is slightly depressing that many of the problems I saw when I worked in the Children's Court 25 years ago and also in Oberstown are still occurring. The difference is that St. Patrick's Institution closed in the intervening time. I have a question for Foróige. The timely processing of young people through the justice system was one of its recommendations. What does it mean by that?

Diversionary mechanisms and early intervention were mentioned by Mr. Ó Donnchú. What are the best interventions the Probation Service has come across? What should be expanded?

I will touch slightly on what Senator Ruane said about the fear of crime, which is important. One of An Garda Síochána's core messages, which is not emphasised enough, much of the time by politicians, is that its job is to eliminate causes of crime as well as the fear of crime. What restorative justice programmes has the Probation Service seen that have worked well? Working in the courts I often found that ad hocor informal restorative justice worked quite well. For example, if there was a burglary or an assault, an introduction of the person who was charged to the victim often worked quite well. It eliminated the fear of the unknown if the person whose house was broken into could meet the person who had broken into it. They could get some sort of communication going. Where has the Probation Service seen that working well?

I thought the IPRT's third recommendation was very good. It relates to placing a positive statutory obligation on the agencies to co-operate around prisoner release. Time after time in Kerry, I saw people released from prison who had been suspended from the housing list. The council's obligation to house them was met by putting them into a hostel with other people who were taking drugs or drinking. They had no chance of escaping from the reasons that had put them into prison in the first place if they were put back into that environment. What does the Probation Service suggest in that regard?

We see long waiting lists for therapies, psychologists, etc. Ms Hyland of Core Youth Services spoke about services in the community. What services does she mean and how can they best be resourced and expanded?