620. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the precise type of work carried out by persons subject to community service orders. [49681/26]

621. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the locations of work carried out by persons subject to community service orders. [49682/26]

622. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if work is carried out on behalf of local authorities or in conjunction with local authorities by persons subject to community service orders. [49683/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 620, 621 and 622 together.

Community Service Orders (CSOs) are a direct alternative to a custodial sentence. The Probation Service has legal responsibility for the assessment, management and revocation of Community Service Orders in line with the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act 1983 and the Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Act 2011.

This legislation provides for the performance of between 40 and 240 hours of unpaid work in the community by a person who is 16 years and over, who has been convicted in court of an offence, for which the appropriate penalty would be a specified custodial sentence.

On 9 January, I published the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill, which is currently before the Seanad. The Bill proposes amendments to the Community Service Act 1983 to support and encourage greater use of CSOs and community sanctions. It includes an amendment to oblige the courts to consider a CSO in lieu of a prison sentence of up to 24 months’ duration (the current such threshold being 12 months) and to give reasons where they consider that a CSO should not be imposed in such a case. It will further amend sections 3 and 5 of the 1983 Act to increase the maximum community service hours that a judge may order from 240 to 480.

Community Service work is undertaken in two ways, either in small group work sites, supervised by Community Service Supervisors employed by the Probation Service, or in individual placements, where the supervision is carried out by arrangement with a host organisation.

Community Service sites include community centres, sports clubs, HSE hospital grounds, schools, churches and graveyards, hostels, charities, horticultural sites. Projects undertaken by those issued with a Community Service Order can include gardening and grounds work, landscaping, Tidy Towns participation and litter collection, painting and decorating and graffiti removal.