Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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593. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the progression of the criminal justice (community sanctions) Bill 2014. [17571/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Non-custodial penalties, particularly supervised community sanctions, play a significant and important role in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and providing a degree of protection to the public. This is supported by Central Statistics Office figures on recidivism.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014 seeks to update the Probation of Offenders Act 1907.

The aim of the new Bill is to provide a modern statement of the law governing community sanctions, and the role of the Probation Service in the criminal justice system. It will facilitate the effective and efficient use of community sanctions by the courts, and will ensure that the courts have a wide range of appropriate options for dealing with persons who have committed minor offences.

The legislation also takes account of the interests of victims of crime by making it a statutory requirement for the courts to have regard to the interests of victims when making decisions about community sanctions.

Justice Plan 2022 commits that the policy review of the General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014 will be completed in the second quarter of this year. Once this review is complete, it is envisaged that it will be published and a revised General Scheme of Bill agreed in the third quarter of this year with the aim of publishing the Bill in the final quarter of 2022.