Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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87. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality given the Judicial Council noted in 2022 that 23% of community service assessments did not convert into community services orders (the main reasons for this being a lack of available work in the community in a given area or at a given time, or that the individual was unable to cooperate due to being in employment, childcare-related issues or their need to access mental health, health or addiction supports), whether his Department intends to put mechanisms in place to ensure that, should a person be given a community service order of, say, 300 hours, they can complete these in a manner that takes into account existing employment or childcare obligations, or that they may need to be in addiction counselling at a time that might coincide with the order. [54117/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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A Community Service Order (CSO) requires an individual to perform unpaid work in the community as a direct alternative to a custodial sentence. In line with legislation governing Community Service, an individual must be assessed as suitable in advance of a community service order being imposed. The Probation Service has statutory responsibility to carry out these assessments. The subject of the CSO must consent to the making of the Order.

I can assure the Deputy that line with legislative requirements, arrangements are put in place so as not to impact upon employment or educational commitments of those subject to CSOs. Once an Order is imposed, a formal induction process is undertaken to agree arrangements for work performance with due consideration of the individuals presenting circumstances, including childcare, other family caring responsibilities, and /or employment circumstances. Each individual is supported to maximise compliance with their CSO.

The conversion rate from community service assessment to imposition of an Order is influenced by various factors: lack of co-operation from the subject of the assessment, unsuitability for medical reasons, instability due to addiction issues or the person being unavailable due to other Court matters overtaking the Community Service Order. Additionally, as sentencing is at the discretion of the Court, a decision may be made by the Judge not to impose a Community Service Order following an assessment.

The Probation Service have confirmed that lack of available sites is not a presenting issue in the assessment of suitability or performance of Community Service Orders. There are 112 Community Service sites nationwide providing opportunities for reparation within all local communities. A range of individual placements are also available to facilitate the needs and skill sets of all individuals. Additionally, in certain circumstances it may be possible for a portion of hours to be awarded for addressing offence-related needs such as addiction issues or to support personal progression pathways. This supports desistance from further offending and promotes social inclusion opportunities.

Under the Community Service: New Directions Implementation Plan 2025 – 2027, the Probation Service is committed to increasing the use of Community Service Orders by the Courts to reduce short term imprisonment, strengthening compliance and enforcement of the sanction consistently nationwide and fostering improvement in victim satisfaction levels.

I have included amendments in the General Scheme of Criminal Law and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 that provide for increasing the maximum limit of community service hours from 240 to 480 hours, and that require the judiciary to consider community service as an alternative when considering the imposition of a custodial sentence of 2 years or less. It is anticipated the Bill will be published before the end of the year.

In 2024, the Probation Service managed 1,723 Community Service Orders totalling more than 222,000 hours of work in lieu of 856 years in prison. This resulted in over €2.8m worth of unpaid work for the benefit of communities nationwide.