Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her very comprehensive reply. I very much appreciate it. It would be helpful if it were possible to provide a breakdown of the number of times first-time offenders have applied for rehabilitative training and have not been successful. In my previous pursuit of this particular subject, I came to the conclusion that access was monopolised to some extent by repeat offenders, for want of a better description. Could a special effort be made to make it possible for first-time offenders who have never run afoul of the law before to be diverted into a programme of rehabilitation as a matter of urgency, rather than giving them a PhD in criminal activity?

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