Mark Wilson

The agency’s 2024 annual report highlights its ongoing commitment to building safer communities across Ireland, through its core work of the supervision and management of people in the community who have offended, offender rehabilitation and reintegration, and services to victims.

Over the course of the year, the service dealt with 17,150 offenders in the community, up by one per cent from 16,989 in the previous year.

The total number of court referrals rose by five per cent to 9,720, from 9,227, while the number of young people referred to the service rose by nine per cent to 764, from 700 in the previous year.

Mark Wilson, director of the Probation Service, said: “The Probation Service’s 2024 annual report, published today, captures the breadth of service’s work in building safer communities and addressing offending behaviour.

“It underscores how community sanctions play an invaluable role within the administration of justice.

“The report details our measurable impact: in 2024, we worked with over 17,100 individuals in the community — a 10% increase since 2020 — while our probation officers delivered more than 13,000 court reports, meeting growing demand with unwavering professionalism.”