Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

As the Deputy will be well aware, I cannot anticipate what funding will be available to my Department for 2012. However, as he accurately recalled, this is a useful mechanism to use within the criminal justice system. I am conscious of the pilot project and I am anxious not to prejudge it. In the context of the cost benefit analysis I hope it will be shown to be a beneficial way of dealing with certain types of prisoners within the criminal justice system. It may avoid, for example, the necessity to remand prisoners pending hearings for certain criminal prosecutions. This may provide a way of freeing spaces within our prison system and render it less costly for prisoners to be kept under supervision than under the present system, which requires that they be detained in prison.

It could also be of use in the future to the parole board but I want to see the result of the cost benefit analysis. My enthusiasm for this way of dealing with appropriate prisoners has to be tempered with my capacity to convince my colleagues, in particular, the Minister for Finance, that there are financial benefits and savings to the State in providing this service while improving the criminal justice system and providing for less overcrowding on a temporary basis within our prisons.

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