Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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430. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the counties in which the bail supervision service operates; the number of persons which have been able to access the service, by county, for each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53537/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The Bail Supervision Scheme (BSS) offers courts an alternative option to detaining a young person who comes before them. It provides for the possibility of granting bail with intensive supervision. By reducing the need for remand places, this also provides an opportunity to focus on developing successful community resources designed to prevent young people being detained in a youth justice facility and reduce the risk of them going further down the path of criminality.

The BSS currently serves the Children Courts in Dublin, Limerick and Cork (Table 1 below refers). The scheme uses Multisystemic Therapy (MST) to support families of young people, who appear before the court and receive bail with conditions, to adhere to these conditions prior to subsequent court appearances.

In 2019, an evaluation of the BSS was published by the then Department of Children and Youth Affairs (www.gov.ie/en/department-of-children-disability-and-equality/publications/evaluation-of-the-bail-supervision-scheme-for-children-pilot-scheme/). The pilot scheme had been based out of the Dublin Children Court and as a result of the positive impact of BSS, as identified in this evaluation, the scheme was expanded to Limerick and Cork Children Courts.

Recognising that the BSS plays a valuable role in diverting young people away from criminality and ultimately detention, I have asked my officials to explore how the scheme might be rolled out nationally.

Table 1 Bail Supervision Scheme 2019 - 2024