Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department works with local authorities in the delivery of services; and if so, the details of same. [42566/12]

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department engage with local authorities in the provision of services and if so the details of same. [42587/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 188 and 191 together.

I can advise the Deputy that my Department co-operates with local authorities in the delivery of various services, the details of which are set out below:

Coroner's Service

The Minister has overall policy responsibility for the Coroner Service, which is delivered by individual coroners in conjunction with local authorities who are responsible for the funding of the service. However, it should be noted that the coroner is not an officer of, or in the service of, the local authority and is an independent, quasi-judicial office holder responsible for the investigation of sudden or unexplained deaths.

Immigration Service

My Department has grant-aided a number of local authorities to assist them in promoting the integration of immigrants in their communities. Over €3.3 million has been allocated since this funding line commenced in 2008. My Department also works with local authorities, including through the provision of grants where appropriate, to assist them in meeting the needs of programme refugees resettled in their area.

Probation Service

Community Service is a sentence imposed by the Court as a direct alternative to custody and is served by an offender in the community under the direction of the Probation Service. The Community Service Graffiti Removal and Site Rehabilitation Project operates in partnership with South Dublin County Council, Dun Laoghaire- Rathdown County Council, Dublin City Council, Cork City Council, Fingal County Council and Galway City Council. Community service projects, where there are linkages with local authorities, also extend to beach cleaning, pathway clearing, work in a dog pound and house maintenance.

The Probation Service is represented on the Multi Agency Group on Homeless Sex Offenders (MAG) which operates under the Dublin Regional Homeless Consultative Fora chaired by Dublin City Council. MAG aims to address the challenges of sex offender resettlement and works with the full support of the four Dublin local authorities.

To aid the transition from custody into homeless/housing services, the Probation Service is a cosignatory to a recently agreed protocol involving the four Dublin local authorities, the Irish Prison Service, the HSE and the Department of Social Protection. This co-operation between the agencies is what secures the Homeless Persons Unit Inreach Service (HPU) (provided by the Department of Social Protection) into Prisons. The interface with the HPU is part of ongoing client work in both prisons and the community. In a similar vein, protocols are currently being developed for piloting between Louth County Council, Department of Social Protection, the Irish Prison Service and Probation Service in support of prisoner throughcare in County Louth.

Traveller Support

Since 2006 Traveller Interagency Groups (TIGs) have been established under each County Development Board (CDB) to coordinate the efforts of state agencies and other stakeholders. The aim of these groups is to develop effective coordination of actions and delivery of services among agencies. The Traveller Policy Unit in my Department is monitoring progress and supporting the dissemination of good practices in implementing the interagency approach.