The lack of a centre to offer support services for former offenders in Cork is one of the issues being addressed by a newly formed grouping, Cork Alliance for Justice and Social Care. On Thursday it heralds its arrival when it hosts a seminar on social inclusion and addressing social disadvantage. According to the alliance's co-ordinator, Sister Enda Dineen, the rates of reoffending runs at between 70 per cent and 80 per cent nationally.
Cork is no different and the group has identified the lack of a support services centre as a major problem for people being released from prisons.
"It costs £46,500 approximately per year or £894 per week to keep someone in prison and yet we have these high levels of reoffending. What happens to people in prison and what happens or perhaps what doesn't happen when they leave, that's what we hope to address with the centre," said Sister Enda.
"We've met both the Prison Service and the Probation and Welfare Service of the Department of Justice and they're very supportive and funding will be made available to run the project but, at the moment, we're actively trying to locate a suitable venue," she added.
Although the project will involve close co-operation between voluntary groups and statutory bodies such as FAS and Cork VEC, Sister Enda is adamant that it must also involve the former offenders themselves if it is to work. "It's crucial they become involved in the centre: it's both with them and for them."
According to Sister Enda, the centre, which would operate under a project leader, would expect to cater for offenders between 18 and 24 when many who are serving sentences in prison begin to assess their situation and make a decision to try to turn their lives around.
"It's around 24 or 25 that many of them start to seriously look at where they're going. Many of them may have children at that stage and they just want to break free from the cycle of reoffending but unfortunately the sort of support services they need once they get out of prison aren't always available," she said.
The Cork Alliance for Justice also wants to address issues of disadvantage which often lead to teenagers turning to crime, in particular the issue of early school-leaving which in some disadvantaged areas is estimated to be as high as 25 per cent compared to the national average of 10 per cent.
The alliance's work involves community development groups and home-school liaison officers as well as lay and religious, including a number of priests with experience of working in disadvantaged areas of the city and sisters from the Mercy, Presentation and Good Shepherd congregations.
The alliance's seminar on Thursday in the Firkin Crane is entitled "Social Care and Inclusion in a Society Where Everyone Matters". Speakers will include the director of the Conference of Religious in Ireland, Father Sean Healy, whose paper is entitled "Building a Fairer Future".
Other speakers at the seminar, which begins at 2 p.m., include St Vincent de Paul's national social policy officer, Mary Murphy, and the director of community and enterprise with Cork Corporation, Pat Ledwidge. Anyone interested in attending can obtain further information from the alliance's office at 021-975941.