‘Our people could more accurately be described as social workers’: Professional identity, practice standards and regulation in Irish probation

Abstract

In 2018 the Irish Probation Service introduced a requirement that applicants for positions as probation officers must be registered social workers. Five years later, in 2023, that requirement was removed. That latter decision, as well as other organisational changes and current legislative proposals have the potential to weaken the erstwhile strong link between probation and social work in Ireland and more importantly to reduce overall practice standards and organisational effectiveness. This article considers the frequently ambiguous connection between social work and probation in Ireland, under a number of headings, including history, professional identity, registration and regulation, language, and education. Issues currently impacting or likely to have an adverse impact on that connection between social work and probation, and practice standards, will be discussed and the unfulfilled promise and potential that social work continues to offer Irish probation explored. In the context of wider pressures on the Irish criminal justice system, specifically prison overcrowding, and the role of the Probation Service in response, the piece will also discuss how the current less than optimal situation can be turned around to positive effect.