Mr. Fergal Black:

The area of working with prisoners to improve their employability is key. Within the Prison Service, approximately 300 prisoners a day are engaged in catering and culinary skills courses and training. The reintroduction of the supervisory grade will improve the number of people who are trained. In Loughan House in County Cavan, we have our own barista coffee shop which the prisoners operate. Members of the public come in, buy their coffee, have their scones and get the car washed. It is an enterprise. We have engaged with the Probation Service in a social enterprise and have secured funding from the dormant account funds to ensure we can provide prisoners with employment after release. The transition from custody to community is extremely difficult. We have made significant progress in the areas of getting them an income, a medical card and accommodation but employment-----