Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Given the kind of money we are talking about, which is now €27 million per annum in real terms, the cost per individual is extremely high.

Has the Department looked at whether there are better ways to try to assist people who are going down the wrong road and who eventually end up in some place like Oberstown? Could more expenditure be put into those areas before a person ends up in Oberstown? I was involved with a number of projects in Cork that were extremely successful. The Garda would have referred people to training facilities and worked closely with them. Have we enough of those around the country and would we get better value for money in following such a process? In the facility I mention, we were looking after 50 people at the time. Approximately seven or eight years ago, the facility cost in the region of €600,000 per annum to run. Is there a better way of dealing with this and do we have sufficient facilities?