Mr. Michael Donnellan:

Absolutely, the continuum of support is vital. It all goes for naught if the person comes out and does not have methadone or supports. Our new job in the prisons is to make those connections with people as they come back into the community. The first 24 or 48 hours is the most dangerous period for the community when someone comes out of prison. We need to ensure they have the supports that are needed. The committee will have representatives from the Probation Service in next. The Probation Services provides much of that support on release. The Deputy is correct: it is critical for us to ensure support is available.

We do a good deal in this area. We maintain we should not let people out of prison on a Friday afternoon or Saturday or Sunday because there is no support available for them to pick up. Several people could go on community return or support. However, we will not let them go because they have no house, flat, bed or hostel or they are not connected with a treatment facility.

Five years ago, we simply had to let these people go. There was no choice because a further 100 people were coming in and we could not cope with the numbers. However, for the first time we have a chance to properly plan for release into the community.