Mr. John O'Callaghan:

There is an inter-agency group that was established a number of years ago. It was initially chaired by Ruth Barrington and I now chair it. That group brings together all the agencies involved in supporting offenders back into the community, for example in the areas of health, education, employment and so on, and a lot of community groups. Their focus is on looking at where the gaps are in the system and trying to plug those to ensure that people, when they move out of prison, move into more stable, secure environments and can get back into employment, education, training or otherwise. That work is ongoing. Obviously, it is challenging and difficult for the reasons the DG, Ms McCaffrey, mentioned. Many people have addiction and mental health issues, so the health and accommodation supports for them are challenging. There is a whole-of-government approach to that which, as I said, is trying to plug the gaps and make sure people can have as smooth a transition as possible, and also a more fruitful existence after the transition out of imprisonment.