Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 26 September 2024
Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community
Travellers in Prison: Discussion
10:30 am
Ms Heather O'Shea:
Yes. The difficulty is trying to find the resources to support the women and their families on their release from prison. This can also delay the children returning to their care. It has such an impact. At the moment, we are working to ensure that children are ready to return to their mother's care but, unfortunately, it often cannot happen because the accommodation is not available or it is not suitable for the children. We are working on this in collaboration with other agencies to try to see if we can come up with something to reduce or remove that barrier.