Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There is an issue with probation and prison I want to raise but I will wait until that comes up under Vote 24. One of the issues with prisons is that access to education in prison is often dependent on the availability of a prison officer to bring a prisoner to the education and the training. There have been plenty of times when prisoners have not had access to education and training because there are not enough prison officers. Is the Minister satisfied there is sufficient budget here to recruit? Are there challenges with recruiting prison officers in the same way we have issues with recruiting gardaí?

A lack of addiction counsellors in prisons has also been highlighted. Is the Minister happy there is sufficient money in these Estimates to allow for addiction counsellors? Given that addiction feeds criminality, addressing addiction while somebody is in a place where they are able to address it, is going to be the biggest issue for them to prevent recidivism and for the community to prevent recidivism and promote safety.