Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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62. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the process in place within the Irish Prison Service system to co-ordinate services for the person being released, both in respect of their housing needs and the financial aid they require from the Department of Social Protection to ensure they have adequate supports in place when released; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36373/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Prison Service (IPS) has a total of 26 dedicated Integrated Sentence Management (ISM) Coordinators operational across all prisons and open centres. These ISM coordinators support rehabilitation, to address offending-related risks and assist with release planning and integration into the community.

They are supported by prison management and the prison-based multi-disciplinary team, which includes the Psychology Service, the Education Service, Work and Training, the Chaplaincy Service, the Probation Service, the Training & Employment Service, the Resettlement Service, and the Healthcare & Addiction Service, as well as operational staff. Measures to address homelessness and the provision of accommodation to people vulnerable to homelessness are the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. The IPS maintains regular contact with that Department and local authorities about the release of prisoners who have identified themselves as homeless or at risk of homelessness. All releases are planned to help these people to make informed and effective transitions from prison to the community.

It is entirely the choice of the individual in custody whether or not to disclose their homeless status to prison authorities during 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 IPS provides funding to an organisation called Tosú (formerly IASIO) who provide Resettlement co-ordinators within Irish prisons. The co-ordinators work with individual prisoners and the relevant local authority to complete their social housing application and identify accommodation solutions ahead of their release into the community. They may also work with the individual in custody to submit social welfare and medical card applications to appropriate contact points.

I am advised that in 2024, a total of 6,885 individuals accounted for 8,126 releases from custody, (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 only includes prisoners who chose to self-identify as homeless. 317 individuals released from 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 application for social housing can be submitted months or days in advance of the release date, depending on the timing of the prisoner’s voluntary declaration of homelessness, which influences opportunities for response.