The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter T.D.,
today published the reports of the Arbour Hill, Cork, Limerick, Midlands
and Shelton Abbey Prison Visiting Committees. The Minister said "I welcome
the reports and wish to thank the Visiting Committees for their valuable
work.
There are fourteen Prison Visiting Committees in existence - one for each
institution. The function of Visiting Committees is to visit, at frequent
intervals, the prison to which they are appointed and hear any complaints
which may be made to them by any prisoner. The Visiting Committees play a
vital role in ensuring the quality of accommodation and catering, medical,
educational and welfare services and recreational facilities."
The reports refer to a number of issues across the prison system including
long standing issues such as staffing levels, prison conditions and
overcrowding. There is also an acknowledgement however, of the efforts made
by the Irish Prison Service, management and staff to address the issues
identified.
The Minister said "I am pleased to note the Visiting Committees’ positive
comments regarding the high quality of the food being provided in prisons.
Of particular significance is the awarding of the EIQA (Excellence Ireland
Quality Association) Emerald Award, the highest level of certification in
the Q Mark for Hygiene and Food Safety, to the Arbour Hill Prison kitchen.
Shelton Abbey also retained its Q mark status following an external audit
of catering services."
The Minister also said that "I am particularly pleased to note the Visiting
Committee’s general praise for the workshops, training programmes and
services in the prisons which is testament to the good work carried out on
a daily basis by staff of the Irish Prison Service".
The Minister acknowledged the concerns raised regarding staffing levels and
in particular the impact on the provision of Integrated Sentence Management
(ISM) at Arbour Hill Prison "As I previously stated in April of last year,
ISM goes hand in hand with the Incentivised Regime and involves a new
orientation in the delivery of services to prisoners and a new emphasis on
prisoners taking greater personal responsibility for their own development
through active engagement with both specialist and non-specialist services
in the prisons. The end result will be a prisoner-centred,
multidisciplinary approach to working with prisoners with provision for
initial assessment, goal setting and periodic review to measure progress.
It is also worth noting that nationwide 1,100 new prisoners participated in
ISM in 2012".
The concerns raised by the Arbour Hill Prison Visiting Committee in
relation to vulnerable prisoners were noted by the Minister who stated that
"I share the Committee’s concerns in relation to such prisoners. The Irish
Prison Service continues to ensure that all appropriate efforts are made to
work with sex offenders to ensure the risk of reoffending after release is
reduced to the greatest extent possible and that they are supported in
reintegrating into the community"
In terms of the reintegration of prisoners in general, the Minister added
that "I am pleased to say that the Joint Irish Prison Service & Probation
Service Strategic Plan 2013-2015 will provide a framework to engage with
statutory and voluntary partners to develop and deliver programmes to
address the reintegration of prisoners into the community."
Responding to the matters raised by Cork Visiting Committee regarding
prison conditions, the Minister stated that "Action is being taken to
address these concerns. The Irish Prison Service is committed to building a
new prison in Cork. Stage one of a two stage tender process for the
construction of a new Cork prison is currently underway and nearing
completion. Subject to development consent being received from the
Oireachtas, it is expected that the construction of the new prison will
commence in October 2013 and completion will be in early 2016." Action also
continues to be taken to reduce overcrowding with the capacities of
Mountjoy and Limerick prisons being significantly reduced and aligned to
the recommendations made by the Inspector of Prisons. This has been
possible due to the availability of structured temporary release schemes
such as the Community Return Programme and the opening of new prisoner
accommodation.
In relation to complaints regarding visitors searching in the Midlands
Prison the Minister said that "It is the policy of the Irish Prison Service
that where a person wishing to visit a prisoner receives a positive
indication from a drugs detection dog at the prison entry point, s/he will
be offered a screened visit. This is a precautionary response in order to
stem the flow of contraband into our prisons. Prisoners are encouraged to
maintain contact with their family and friends, however, if there is any
suspicion that a visitor to a prison may have contraband on their person,
the necessary precaution will be taken to keep drugs out of prisons so as
to ensure a safer environment for prisoners."
Finally, responding to comments regarding prison transfers in the Midlands
Prison the Minister is advised by the Irish Prison Service that while every
effort is made to accommodate prisoners close to their families, it is
obliged to make the most effective and efficient use of the resources at
its disposal.
The reports, along with previous reports, are available on the Department’s
website www.justice.ie