Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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771. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the supports available to persons who are newly released from prison; and to provide a list of the agencies responsible for delivering supports. [2143/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service provides funding to enable the Irish Association for Social Integration Opportunities to provide Resettlement coordinators in each of our closed prisons.

Resettlement coordinators take a case-management approach to intervening with a prisoner 9 to 12 months pre-release to commence planning for post-release supports, including amongst other functions, working with the individual in custody to submit housing, welfare and medical card applications to appropriate contact points well in advance of release.

The Probation Service supervises people where a court imposes a post release supervision order or where a judge imposes a suspended or part-suspended sentence on condition that the person who has offended remains under the supervision of a probation officer for the specified time that the custodial sentence is suspended.

In addition, a person may be under the supervision of the Probation Service as part of their participation in the Community Return Scheme, an incentivised early release scheme co-managed by the Irish Prison Service and the Probation Service. Under the Community Return Scheme, people in prison can be approved for reviewable temporary release coupled with a requirement to complete community service work in a supervised group setting under the supervision of the Probation Service.

The Probation Service funded 61 Community Based Organisations in 2024, in order to develop and deliver services to offenders in their communities, including persons who have been released from prison. These services reduce the likelihood of reoffending and risk of harm to the public and support the client’s re-integration into the community. The Probation Service also funds the IASIO Linkage programme, which is a training, employment and guidance service, supporting offenders to integrate into the working community.

In relation to other supports available, access to post-release supports for offenders mirror those available to the general public. The Deputy may wish to direct queries regarding particular supports and services to the Departments' responsible for these services.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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772. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the percentage of persons that leave the prison service and enter homelessness. [2144/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, measures to address homelessness and the provision of accommodation to persons vulnerable to homelessness are the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.

The Irish Prison Service does maintain regular contact with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and local authorities regarding the release of prisoners who have identified themselves to the Irish Prison Services as homeless or at risk of homelessness. I am advised that all releases are planned in order to help offenders to make informed and effective transitions from prison to the community.

I am further advised that local authorities maintain statistics regarding people accessing homeless services on the “PASS” system, and the Irish Prison Service does not have access to this information.

It is entirely at the discretion of the individual in custody whether or not they choose to disclose their homeless status to prison authorities throughout their sentence. When a sentenced prisoner informs prison authorities that they were homeless prior to coming into custody, or that they are at risk of homelessness on release, they are referred to the prison-based Resettlement Service. The Resettlement Service works with the prisoner and the relevant local authority to complete their social housing application and identify possible accommodation solutions in preparation for their release and reintegration into the community.

I am advised that in 2024, a total of 6,885 individuals accounted for 8,126 releases from custody, as a person can be committed on more than one occasion within a calendar year. In 2024 on committal into custody, 748 individuals reported their address as No Fixed Abode. This information does not include prisoners who did not declare their homeless status to prison authorities prior to release, or prisoners who chose not to avail of the assistance of the Resettlement Service, as this information is not available.

317 individuals that exited prison in 2024 sought the assistance of the Resettlement Service prior to their release, completed an application for social housing and were released from prison to attend public housing appointments for emergency homeless accommodation.

The Irish Prison Service advises that the application for social housing can be submitted months or days in advance of the release date, dependent on the timing of the prisoner’s voluntary declaration of homelessness, which influences opportunities for response.