470. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Justice the levels of recidivism for drug offenders; and the supports that are in place to prevent re-offending on release, especially regarding help finding housing. [36020/24]

Helen McEntee, Minister for Justice: As the Deputy may be aware, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) regularly publishes both prison and probation re-offending statistics on their website www.cso.ie.

Detailed statistical information can found at the CSO website statistics section at People and Society - Crime and Justice.

This Government is focused on reducing reoffending, including by diverting people, where appropriate, from the criminal justice system and ensuring the underlying causes of offending behaviour are addressed.

This is not something that can be done with just a criminal justice response. It requires action on the part of other Departments and agencies.

While there are no quick fixes to reducing reoffending, evidence shows that different targeted interventions are needed and having developed a range of policies to achieve this, we now have agreed actions and are working to implement them.

In 2022, I published a Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform, which is being implemented and includes increasing the use of alternatives to custodial sanctions where appropriate.

Additionally, the recommendations of High Level Taskforce to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of those who come into contact with the criminal justice sector, also published in 2022, are being progressed in conjunction with the Department of Health with a view to better supporting people to address the underlying causes of their offending behaviour, including through diversion and appropriate community supports post-release.

The provision of education and training is also key to reducing recidivism and the Prison Service provides supports and services from basic literacy and numeracy education, up to third level qualifications.

Further, the Prison Education Taskforce, co-chaired by Minister O'Donovan and Minister Browne, comprises key agencies such as the Irish Prison Service, Solas, the Probation Service, and the Education and Training Boards. The aim of the taskforce is to ensure greater alignment between prison education and work training and the tertiary education system to support prisoners in benefitting from education and training opportunities while in custody to support their rehabilitation and access to employment post-release.

The Probation Service also funds and works collaboratively with a number of Community Based Organisations (CBOs) to provide supported temporary accommodation and the development of independent living skills to persons subject to Probation supervision who are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness. These services support the Probation Service to ensure court ordered supervision is implemented, reduce the likelihood of reoffending and risk of harm to the public and support the client’s transition to stable long-term accommodation while addressing any existent support needs such as substance misuse.

The Probation Service recently established a Social Inclusion and  Reintegration Unit for Probation Service clients, which will support the Service’s work related to offending which is underpinned by social and health factors, including low educational attainment, substance misuse, homelessness, poor mental health, trauma, unemployment and poverty.

Taken together, these important and comprehensive pieces of work represent a coherent and all-of-system approach to addressing offender behaviour, providing rehabilitative and mental health supports, and managing the people who offend in a considered and planned way to minimise reoffending.