I would like to point out that at present, our prison systems are operating well above capacity at a national average of 125%. I have mentioned in this House before about the female prisons in Limerick and Mountjoy being over 150% capacity. Many people are entering custody there for short sentences that are often less than 12 months. The evidence shows this approach is not delivering strong outcomes and often there is a 45% re-offending rate. Nearly half of the people re-offend within one year. It is showing continued pressure, not just on the justice system but in respect of health, housing and community.

Today in the audiovisual room we have Release, which is an Irish charity that is working with people who are in custody and in the community. It is focusing on helping people with shorter sentences to take responsibility for their actions and understand the harm caused but then to rebuild through a restorative justice approach. It is working with an organisation called RESCALED, which is a European initiative promoting small, community-based detention houses. They are structured with supervised environments. They are designed for people who would otherwise receive short custodial sentences. The key point here is that this has worked across Europe and is showing strong results in reducing re-offending.

The proposal Release is putting forward today is to explore how this model could work in Ireland. Its CEO, Jay Bobinac, is downstairs and he is saying that if we recognise community detention as a credible option, then supporting a small pilot and evaluating its outcomes can make a difference. It is not about replacing the prison system; it is about improving it by using the right responses for the right case. If we are serious about reducing re-offending and building safer communities, then it is reasonable we should examine such approaches that are working elsewhere and consider how they would fit within our prison system.