Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will not detain the House for too long. The Labour Party will support the Bill, which fulfils a very simple purpose, as the Minister of State has said. That is to facilitate a person who is under the supervision of the Probation Service in one EU member state but who lives in another EU member state to return home to continue his or her supervision there. We will support the Bill. The Minister of State has outlined the intention of the Bill very clearly. It does give effect to the provisions of the EU Council Framework Decision 2008/947/JHA.

While I have the opportunity, I wish to defer to the Probation Service and praise the work it does. It is very instructive to look at the monthly offender population reports. The January report shows there are 9,850 people who are guests - if you will - of the service. Of that figure, 1,471 persons are in custody and 8,379 are in the community. That is a testament to how successful the Probation Service is. It is worthwhile for us to acknowledge the vital role it plays in Irish society.

While it is not germane to the Bill I wish to also refer to the social enterprise strategy called A New Way Forward. I understand a review was carried out for 2017 - 2019. The whole modus operandiof the social enterprise strategy is to support social enterprises within the criminal justice system. It is a laudable initiative, the main aim of which is to ensure there is not a rate of recidivism. There are 20 social enterprises employing people who have had convictions, with 46 jobs created within social enterprises up to October 2018. While it is not pertinent to the Bill, I believe there is a clear case to be made for ensuring that the social enterprise strategy continues and for resources to be put into it to create more jobs for people who have a history of offending. Through an increase in educational and training roles and jobs, there is less likelihood of reoffending. The Labour Party would wholeheartedly support any resources the Government might put into that strategy.

While we are speaking about the prisoner population and those who are being looked after within the community by the Probation Service, I acknowledge the role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in providing consular assistance to those Irish citizens - and there are a few - who are serving time in prisons overseas and especially outside the European Union. It is encouraging to know that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade takes a very humane approach, notwithstanding some of the crimes that have been committed abroad. The Department takes a very humane approach to ensuring that the welfare of prisoners abroad is maintained insofar as is practicable, and it is worth acknowledging the Department's role in that.

The Labour Party supports the Bill and I thank the Minister of State for bringing the Bill before the House.

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