Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, to the Chamber. I believe this is my first time addressing her since she got her new role. I congratulate her. We look forward to working with her over her term. I have no doubt she will do great things in her new role.

I thank the Minister of State for the opportunity to raise this important Commencement matter and for coming in to take it. I seek an update on electronic monitoring. What progress had been made? We have a commitment to it in the programme for Government. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, is personally very committed to delivering it.

Public safety and security in people's homes is a live issue for us in Limerick. I am on the doors every week in different parts of the constituency. The issue of personal safety, the safety of people's property in their homes and safety in their cars comes up repeatedly throughout the constituency. Likewise when I meet the business community, as I do regularly, the issue of shoplifting and the crippling cost to retailers already much challenged in our city centre comes up again and again. The Garda works very well with private individuals and businesses in trying to tackle these issues but I see the potential for a great role for electronic monitoring in supporting the work the Garda does in those areas. I am eager to get an update from the Minister of State because of its potential for enhancing public safety.

Limerick and, indeed, all communities across the country deserve every available tool that can help to protect people, strengthen their confidence in the justice system and ensure court-imposed bail conditions can be properly enforced. Electronic minoring will be a tool for the Judiciary when considering who among those before it may be suitable for bail and will also give us reassurance of greater safeguards for the public. The tragic death occurred in Limerick in 2023 of University of Limerick student Joe Drennan, originally from Laois, who was standing at a bus stop in Castletroy after finishing his shift working in a nearby restaurant. He was mowed down and killed by a driver who was out on bail. While I understand and appreciate that electronic monitoring or no other single measure can prevent a tragedy such as this, the public is entitled to expect that every reasonable safeguard is in place to monitor compliance and reduce risk.

There are also many cases where a prison sentence is neither necessary nor appropriate. However, where individuals might be granted bail or offered temporary release, protecting the public has to remain the overriding priority. Electronic monitoring can help us to strike that balance while allowing suitable individuals to remain in the community but providing greater confidence that they are complying with the conditions imposed by the courts.

Limerick is particularly well placed to host any pilot or trial of electronic monitoring. I call for that to be done. We have a strong track record in our city not only in tackling crime, supporting victims and improving community safety but also within the Garda in rolling out trials. We recently finished a community access support team, CAST, partnership pilot between the Garda and the HSE mental health unit. We finished a trial on body-worn cameras and are due to start one on tasers.Limerick would be particularly well placed to put in place an effective trial and to do the monitoring and reporting that would be necessary to help inform any future decisions on where electronic monitoring may be suitable. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response.

Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator very much for her kind words. I also thank her for volunteering Limerick for the trial. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, is pursuing a dual approach to address the issue of prison overcrowding by increasing prison capacity and pursuing further measures to support increasing the use of non-custodial sanctions like the Senator mentioned. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is leading a cross-agency project to introduce electronic monitoring of specific categories of individuals, as committed to in the programme for Government and in line with existing legal provisions. A number of scenarios are covered by the legislation currently which allow for electronic monitoring, in particular provisions which allow for the tagging of people on temporary release and in some circumstances people on bail, as the Senator outlined. My thoughts are with the victim of the crime that was committed while the assailant was on bail. Electronic monitoring has the potential to act as another avenue to tackle overcrowding in our prison system.

Existing legislation, including the Bail Act 1997, as amended, and the Criminal Justice Act 2006, as amended, provides for electronic monitoring in certain circumstances. A steering group is in place made up of sectoral representatives who are driving the delivery of this project to operationalise electronic monitoring. This includes consideration of technology, data protection, procurement, implementation and an operating model design. The electronic monitoring pilot will focus on individuals on temporary release nationally and those admitted to bail in the pilot area. It is proposed to utilise up to 50 electronic tags during this phase. This is expected to provide capacity to monitor between 90 and 150 people in a year, but exact numbers monitored will depend on a range of factors including the individual's length of time on bail or on temporary release, and an individual's personal circumstances, including ongoing suitability and compliance with conditions.

The pilot approach will allow for processes and procedures to be tested for a wider scale national roll-out, while also supporting the agencies involved to build capability and knowledge of the electronic monitoring system. Insights from the pilot will inform any future national roll-out procurement. Under budget 2026, funding of €2.1 million was allocated for the project to allow for staffing, procurement and other set-up costs. The electronic monitoring project is progressing and is expected to be operational in 2026. The request for tender closed on 14 April and I am advised that a number of tenders were received by the deadline. As this is a live competition, I am precluded from making further comments on the process. All updates regarding this competition will be made through the national tendering portal - eTenders.

I note that, as of March, 12 probationary gardaí were assigned to the Limerick division. They are having a huge impact. People have commented to me as a public representative that they are feeling safer. They have been quite successful. Operation Thor has been ongoing for quite some time. It combats burglaries and organised crime in more rural areas, especially where the national road network is being used.

As Senator Ryan is aware, a lot of progress is being made by the Department when it comes to retail crime. When combined, all of these will hopefully have a huge effect on businesses and individuals in Limerick. Obviously I cannot commit to saying where the pilot will be, but I thank Senator Ryan for her suggestion.

Dee Ryan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for that excellent update. It is great to hear that the Department envisages that the pilot will be live before the end of this year. That is a testimony to the commitment of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and the Minister of State to modernising our justice system, and all of the other measures that she mentioned, including the high-visibility policing in Limerick, which has been hugely successful. We are very pleased with it. It gets commented on by people when I call to their door. That is why I am really eager for this to be trialled in Limerick. I have confidence in our gardaí. They have the capacity to manage it very well. They will give back great information. I am also keen for the benefits of electronic monitoring to be rolled out in Limerick as soon as possible. I acknowledge the important impact it will have on overcrowding in prisons and, as the Minister of State outlined, also supporting the Judiciary in making a decision, where suitable, to have someone on bail or temporary release, as opposed to being on remand. We look forward to trialling it for the Minister in Limerick if possible.

Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Ryan. She makes a great case for the pilot. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is committed to implementing electronic monitoring in line with the commitments set out in the programme for Government.The electronic monitoring project is progressing and is expected to be operational this year. We are quite far down the road with it.

The Minister is also committed to progressing other commitments in the programme for Government relating to the expanded use of community sanctions that will contribute to reducing prison overcrowding and improving efforts to rehabilitate offenders. Non-custodial penalties, particularly supervised community sanctions, can play a significant role in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and protecting the public. They also help with the management of prison numbers, providing a more cost-effective criminal justice response to minor offences.

The Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026, which completed Report and Final Stages in the Seanad on 2 July, includes amendments to the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act 1983, aimed at encouraging greater use of community service orders, CSOs. The amendments will allow a court to order up to 480 hours of community service, the current statutory maximum being 240 hours. They will also oblige the courts to consider a CSO in lieu of a prison sentence of up to 24 months' duration, the current statutory threshold being 12 months, and to give reasons where they consider that a CSO should not be imposed in such a case. It should be noted that, at present, the Judiciary is already permitted to consider a CSO in lieu of a custodial sentence of more than 12 months. The amendment will create a statutory obligation on judges to demonstrate that they have considered a CSO as an alternative to sentences of up to 24 months.

In June 2026, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, published a policy review of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014. The purpose of the proposed Bill is to update the Probation of Offenders Act 1907 with modern provisions dealing with community sanctions and the role of the Probation Service in the criminal justice system. The policy review proposes changes to the 2014 Bill's general scheme to reflect more recent developments in Irish penal policy. The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration will now progress work on the revision of the general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014.

I thank the Senator again for giving me an opportunity to explain the progress on electronic monitoring.