Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the current situation in County Kerry regarding probation officers; if there are probation officers available to deal with cases that need assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13517/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Probation Service, which is the lead agency in the assessment and management of offenders in our communities, is divided into seven operational regions. County Kerry comes within the South West Region which also encompasses Cork City and County; County Clare; and Limerick City and County.

The team operating out of Tralee covers a caseload of both adult and young offenders. In addition to professional probation staff, the team also has the support of one full time clerical officer and two part time community service supervisors.

The Service allocates its resources and prioritises its workload to maximise efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of front-line services. In that context, it focuses primarily on cases which have a statutory responsibility including high risk cases, community service, and young offenders.