Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 189: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the probation service is housing released prisoners in an area (details supplied) in Dublin 7; the number of prisoners who have been allowed to reside there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10677/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I can inform the Deputy that the Probation Service provides funding to approximately 50 voluntary bodies to assist with the management of offenders in the community. These funded projects provide a range of services to offenders in local communities, including training and education, offender management programmes, residential accommodation, drug and alcohol abuse treatment programmes. The New Directions is one such project and in 2009 received funding from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform through the Probation Service for the provision of accommodation.

The New Directions project provides an accommodation response to support a newly developed joint management approach to high risk sex offenders between An Garda Síochána and the Probation Service . The aim is to secure accommodation for a small cohort of high risk/high profile ex-offenders leaving custody. The New Directions project has supported 6 individuals, one of whom was placed at a location in Dublin 7. This property is not being used for further cases.

As the Deputy will appreciate it is not appropriate to comment on any individual location where property might be sourced from the private rented sector.