Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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313. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of criminal gang members currently in prison or facing trial; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37097/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I have been advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that the position remains as set out for the Deputy in response to Parliamentary Question 30430/21, which was answered on 3 June of this year.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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314. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which recidivism is evident in the context of various levels of offences; the groups most seriously affected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37098/21]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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316. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which changes in the pattern of recidivism has been noted in any or each of the past five years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37100/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 316 together.

Ensuring people feel safe in their communities and in their homes is a priority for this Government and my Department, and we are striving to provide that safety through engagement with communities, by reducing crime and tackling recidivism and by supporting victims.

Working to reduce re-offending and minimise the risk of further harm to victims and society, through the implementation of effective evidence-based penal policy, is a key priority for this Government. While I recognise that there is no quick fix to reducing recidivism, targeted interventions, particularly in the community, will result in better outcomes for the most marginalised offenders. These include increasing access to addiction treatment, employment opportunities and increased use of community funded organisations.

Justice Plan 2021 outlines a range of actions to progress this. Among those is the forthcoming publication of a Review on Penal Policy, which will set out actions to be taken going forward in order to reduce the rate of reoffending.

A number of initiatives have been introduced over the past decade to reduce reoffending including Community Return and Community Support Schemes and the Joint Agency Response to Crime (J-ARC). Community Return and Community Support Schemes aim to increase support for prisoners prior to their release from prison, upon their release, and then for a period after their release in order to break the cycle of offending. The J-ARC is a multi-agency response to the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders which targets prolific offenders responsible for large amounts of crime. The Action Plan for the Joint Management of Offenders (2019-2021) further aims to reduce reoffending of sex offenders, perpetrators of domestic abuse and prolific offenders (including violent and other serious anti-social offenders). The Department, Probation Service, IPS and An Garda Síochána have developed a focused framework to work collaboratively to manage such offenders in prison and in the community.

In terms of statistical trends in regards to recidivism, 2 recent publications from the CSO will be of interest to the Deputy.

One published on 17 November 2020 provides information on the level of recorded re-offending by offenders that were placed under the management of the Probation Service, including those on Community Service Orders. The second report published on 25 June examines re-offending levels amongst prisoners released from the Prison Service.

Both reports can be found on the website of the CSO.

In relation the CSO report on re-offending by offenders that were placed under the management of the Probation Service, it is encouraging to note that reoffending rates decreased over the period covered by the report. The Probation Service remains committed to supporting the sustained reduction of recidivism through the delivery of its offender rehabilitation and supervision schemes, and continues to work closely with partners within the Justice ecosystem to support the successful reintegration of those who have committed crimes safely back into their communities.

As regards the statistics contained in the report examining reoffending levels amongst those released from Prison, while it is encouraging to see that no significant upward trends are occurring, it is clear that we still have much work to do in this area.

Examples of recent initiatives intended to support reintegration of offenders and reduce reoffending include:

- The Criminal Justice Sector Housing First Project which was initiated in October last year to deliver on a commitment contained in the Housing First National Implementation Plan 2018-2021 by securing housing with time unlimited multi-disciplinary supports for 75 people leaving prison custody or under probation supervision in the community.

- The Working to Change: Social Enterprise and Employment Strategy 2021-2023 launched last year sets out the Department’s direction for supporting employment options for people with convictions by working to remove the systemic barriers so that people can make sustainable changes.

- The new Youth Justice Strategy which is an important element in the State’s policy response to the involvement of children and young people in crime and is designed to provide a development framework to address key ongoing challenges, as well as new and emerging issues in the youth Justice area. This will include preventing offending behaviour from occurring and diverting children and young adults who commit a crime away from further offending and involvement in the criminal justice system.

- The establishment of the High Level Task Force on Mental Health which is considering how best to care for people with mental health issues who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The Task Force has already met twice and has established a number of sub-groups which are focusing in the first instance on effective diversion from the criminal justice system; along with capacity levels in the Central Mental Hospital and the Irish Prison Service; and also at community care and through-care from custody.

We are also working to reform our spent convictions legislation to broaden the range of convictions that are considered spent in order to offer opportunities to individuals who have demonstrated that they wish to move away from offending and into employment by offering them an important ‘second chance’.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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315. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of offences committed by persons while on bail for one or more offences in each of the past five years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37099/21]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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321. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the average number of accused persons on bail at any given time in the past five years; the number of crimes committed by such persons while on bail; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37105/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 315 and 321 together.

As the Deputy may be aware, the decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the presiding Judge, who is independent in the exercise of his or her judicial functions. There is also a Constitutional presumption in favour of the grant of bail as, under Irish Law, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. I have made enquiries in relation to the data requested by the Deputy and I am advised that the information sought is not readily available.

However, in general terms, the Deputy may be interested to note that the Criminal Justice Act 2017 strengthens the operation of the bail system with the aim of making the law as effective as possible in protecting the public against crimes committed by persons on bail.

Under the Act, a Court, in considering an application for bail, is required to have regard to persistent serious offending by an applicant for bail and the nature and seriousness of any danger presented by the grant of bail to a person charged with an offence that carries a penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment or more. The Act also provides for the Court to have the power, in certain circumstances, to hear evidence from the victim of an alleged offence before a decision on bail is taken.

Where an accused person is granted bail, the Act provides for stricter bail terms for repeat serious offenders, strengthens Garda powers to deal with breaches of bail and increases the use of curfews.

I am advised by the Garda authorities that the amended bail laws have proven to be effective and I can inform the Deputy there are no immediate plans to introduce further bail legislation.