Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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552. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form the actions she has taken for each recommendation contained in the strategic review of penal policy final report published in July 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42224/14]

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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553. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide in tabular form the actions she has taken for each recommendation contained in the report on penal reform published by the Houses of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality in March 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42225/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 552 and 553 together.

The Penal Policy Review Group was established in September 2012 to undertake an examination and analysis of all aspects of penal policy including the role of penal policy in crime prevention, sentencing policy, alternatives to custody, prison accommodation and regimes, supports for reintegration and rehabilitation, and the issue of female offenders.

The Group was also asked to consider the recommendations contained in the Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality published in March, 2013.

I published the Final Report of the Penal Policy Review Group on 17 September, 2014. There is, I believe, much in common between both reports. There has been considerable progress in recent years but there remains much to be done, and both reports recognise that.

The Report of the Penal Policy Review Group contains 43 recommendations, some of which can be implemented in the short to medium term, while others will require a more long term approach. As an initial step, I am bringing proposals to Government in this regard and will make an announcement shortly.