John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Bill and thank the Minister for introducing it. It is almost identical to a Bill published less than three months ago by Fianna Fáil. However, what is important is that the Minister has brought the legislation before the House so we can debate its provisions. It represents a commonsense approach to dealing with offenders in our prison system. The Bill makes it mandatory for judges to consider imposing community service on offenders who would otherwise face up to 12 months in prison. I welcome the extension from six to 12 months as it means more offences will be covered.

Community service orders apply to relatively minor crimes such as traffic offences, vandalism and non-payment of fines. Some people may be concerned that the Bill indicates we are going soft on crime, but that is not the case. Rather, it allows us to deal in a smarter way with crime and will not affect how the State deals with serious offenders. Fianna Fáil in government has already introduced the ground-breaking Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 to clamp down on serious and violent criminals.

The benefits of the legislation before us are manifold. Above all, it will encourage greater use of community service. A value for money and policy review of the community service scheme published in October 2009 recommended that offenders found guilty of minor offences are generally suitable for community service. At present fewer than 30 courts in the State are responsible for some 80% of community orders issued - perhaps the Minister will explain why that is so. The prevalence of such orders seems to vary from area to area. In Wexford, for example, judges have from time to time implemented community service orders and that has worked well for minor offences. The Bill encourages judges at least to consider the use of community service.

Another obvious benefit of this provision is that it will provide unpaid work by offenders to community groups. In many cases such work might not otherwise be carried out particularly in current circumstances where clubs and organisations are finding it difficult to get sponsorship and raise funding. Those who are ordered to do community service will engage in a broad range of tasks such as landscaping, painting, decorating, repairs and renovations. They may also provide support to sports clubs and schools in local communities. I was critical of the last Government when sports funding was largely withdrawn in recent years. If the Minister has any influence in this regard I ask that he urge it be included for consideration in the budget. Sports funding is of vital importance to community groups and sporting organisations throughout the State in providing facilities for young people. It is important that this support should continue. Most community centres and sports organisations could do with additional support at this time.

It makes sense for someone who is guilty of a minor offence to undertake work in the community rather than sitting in prison. That is the spirit of the legislation. I understand that in Edinburgh more than 1,450 hours of snow clearing were carried out by offenders on community service during the recent severe weather. We had the same problem in this country last winter and it is an area where community service could be very useful. There are several situations in which offenders on community service could provide an invaluable service.

We may need to spell out to judges the benefits of an increased imposition of community service orders. Although judges are independent of this House, there is an opportunity for them to adopt a commonsense attitude in this matter, particularly when dealing with young people. I have always held the view that the Judiciary is sometimes out of touch with reality, especially in the case of some of the fines its members have imposed. For instance, an unemployed person who has not paid his or her motor tax has no hope of paying a fine of IR£500 or €500. Garda time is taken up in calling out to the person's home, issuing warnings after second and third chances have been expended and ultimately placing the person in Mountjoy Prison, Shelton Abbey in Arklow or Portlaoise Prison. It has happened many times that two gardaí in a hired car have been obliged to collect such a person to be brought to prison at an enormous cost to the State. Thereafter, Mr. John Lonergan or whatever prison governor was in charge usually would have allowed the person concerned to return home within a couple of days. It made no sense whatever to place such a burden on taxpayers. That is the reason I welcome the Bill which will perform a useful function in this regard.

As many Members have noted, it is important to remember that running a prison is a costly business. It is also a source of concern that prison numbers appear to be increasing rapidly and the Minister is correct to try to deal with this issue. A community service order costs €4,000 per offender, while I am told the cost in respect of a prison charge is approximately €30,000. While I do not know whether these figures are precise, they frequently appear in the newspapers. Moreover, the value for money report provided interesting food for thought. It found that had 10% of those prisoners sentenced in 2009 been given community service orders instead, it would have saved the Exchequer between €15 million and €20 million. Perhaps the Minister might confirm whether this is the case.

The major discrepancy between the cost of sending someone to prison and issuing a community service order is supported by international evidence. In the United Kingdom it is estimated that the cost of a community service order is 5% of the total cost of keeping someone in prison for one year, while the comparable figure in New Zealand is just 2%. In the light of the recent adjustments to social welfare rates and other necessary budget cuts, it simply is not justifiable to pay €30,000 to keep behind bars those persons who have committed minor offences. In addition, all Members have evidence of cases in which young people who are committed to prison, even for short periods between one and six months, usually emerge as hardened criminals on their release. This is because they learn all the wrong lessons from hardened criminals in prison. This has been the source of considerable concern for some time and warrants examination. There is no point in committing young people to prison only to find that they will become a constant scourge on society on their release because of the wrong lessons they learn while in prison. For this reason, it is important to take the road outlined in the Bill which provides for young offenders, in particular, to perform community work.

While probation officers do an excellent job in so far as possible, there is always a scarcity of such officers. Where will the requisite increase in their number fit into the Bill or is that a matter for another Department? I seek the Minister's views in this regard. The probation officers who operate in the south east undoubtedly do an excellent job. They try to ensure offenders, particularly young offenders, are rehabilitated back into normal society. It is important to take this approach because it is not good for society to have people continually in and out of prison, engaging in robberies, crime or law-breaking on a regular basis. While it is not good for the family of the person in prison, it certainly is not good for the community in general. It will be important to marry the Bill and the manner in which the issue of probation officers is dealt with.

I thank the Minister for introducing the Bill so soon after his assumption of office. It will be welcomed by the community in general which has nothing to fear from it. It provides an opportunity for young people to perform community work instead of going to prison only to learn all of the things they should not. In addition, it gives communities an opportunity to avail of unpaid work by the young people concerned. I know of two recent instances in Wexford in which young people were given such a sentence and it worked very well. One of them was involved in the local GAA club where he carried out his 200 hours of community service. The club certainly gave a glowing account of him from the day he arrived until the day he finished. I understand he worked one day a week for three or four months and that he became deeply involved in the club thereafter. He is now one of the pillars of both the club and the community. This proves that such sentences work. I again welcome the introduction of the Bill in the House.

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