The Irish Probation And Welfare Service: Some Observations On Recent Developments
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050004700406 |
| Published date | 01 December 2000 |
| Date | 01 December 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
262
The
Irish
Probation
And
Welfare
Service:
Some
Observations
On
Recent
Developments
Terry
Thomas
examines
the
development
of
the
Irish
Probation
Service,
highlighting
its
slow
pace
of
change
and
the
Irish
Government’s
relative
lack
of
investment
in
and
commitment
to
its
work.
he
Irish
Probation
and
Welfare
~
Service
is
a
long
established
agency
of
the
Criminal
Justice
System
in
the
Republic
of
Ireland,
with
its
legal
origins
traceable
back
to
the
1907
Probation
of
Offenders
Act,
which
created
the
Service
in
England
and
Wales.
The
’McCarthy
Reports’
of
1998
and
1999
attempted
a
complete
review
of
the
Irish
Service
to
try
and
modernise
it
and
at
the
same
time
enhance
its
standing
(McCarthy,
1998
and
1999).
This
paper
considers
the
development
and
current
state
of
the
Irish
Probation
and
Welfare
Service,
and
examines
the
recommendations
of
the
McCarthy
Reports.
The Development
of the
Irish
Probation
and
NVelfare
Service
Although
the
1907
Probation
of
Offenders
Act
can
be
cited
as
the
starting
point
for
an
Irish
Probation
Service,
there
was
little
activity
by
either
the
British
government
(until
1921)
or
later
Irish
governments,
to
make
a
reality
of
the
Service.
It
was
not
until
1942
that
the
Department
of
Justice
appointed
its
first
probation
officers.
From
1942
to
1962
no
more
than
six
were
ever
in
post
at
any one
time,
and
were
working
only
in
the
Dublin
area
(Burke et
al.,
1981,
p.89).
While
the
UK
went
ahead
with
the
creation
of
its
Probation
Service,
Irish
observers
have
noted
that
the
1907
Act
&dquo;was
not
applied
with
even
remotely
the
same
enthusiasm
by
the
Irish&dquo;
(Raftery
and
O’Sullivan,
1999,
p.71).
In
1962
a
Department
of
Justice
internal
report,
that
was
never
made
public,
resulted
in
an
increase
in
numbers
from
six
probation
officers
to
eight.
Five
of
them
were
to
serve
the
Children’s
Court,
one
the
Dublin
District
Court
and
one
each
the
prisons
of
St.
Patricks
and
Mountjoy.
All
the
officers
were
to
be
located
in
the
Dublin
area.
It
was
only
following
another
internal
report
in
1969
that
steps
were
taken
to
introduce
a
nationwide
service.
This
evolved
into
the
present-day
arrangements,
so
that
by
1979
the
establishment
consisted
of
the
Principal
Probation
and
Welfare
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