Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank you for your kind invitation to address your annual
conference.
At the outset, I want to acknowledge the very significant contribution that
prison staff make to Irish society, both collectively and at an individual
level. The work of Prison Officers is not easy. Society does not always
see the vital work that you are carrying out on their behalf. I have seen
the work you do. And on behalf of those for whom you carry out these
duties, the public, I thank you for your hard work and the dedication you
bring to this most important role in the criminal justice system.
Since my appointment as Minister, I have visited a number of prisons and I
have seen at first hand the professional, dedicated, and honest hard work
that your members carry out. Let me say that I have the greatest of
respect for prison staff and management. I believe you perform a difficult
job on behalf of the State and you perform it well, coping with the unique
challenges that your job entails.
As you are only too well aware, there has been a consistent increase in the
total prisoner population in Ireland over recent years, with dramatic
increases in the number of sentenced prisoners and a trend towards longer
sentences. On the 26th March 2010 the number of prisoners in the system
exceeded 5,000 for the first time in the history of the State. As of
yesterday, there were 4,495 prisoners in custody and 794 (that is 14.6%) on
temporary release. Of course, the Irish Prison Service must accept all
prisoners committed by the Courts into it’s custody and does not have the
option of refusing committals.
For my part, I am conscious of the level of overcrowding in our prisons and
the impact that it has on services to prisoners. I am also conscious that
the number of prisoners on temporary release is simply unacceptable and
that increasing those numbers to deal with overcrowding is not the
solution. In line with the Government Programme for National Recovery, I
believe we need to take steps to reduce the prison population and alleviate
overcrowding.
As you know, I recently established a committee to review the Thornton Hall
Project. The committee has been asked to examine the need for new prison
accommodation and to advise by 1 July 2011 whether work on the site at
Thornton should proceed. Their terms of reference specifically requires
them to take into account the need for an adequate stock of prison
accommodation that meets required standards and to look also at
alternatives to custody.
The State has been engaged in an ongoing capital programme with almost 600
additional prisoner spaces constructed and brought into use since January
2008. There are also a number of ongoing projects, most notably the
construction of a new accommodation block at the Midlands prison. This
will provide a potential 300 spaces, a new kitchen and work
training/education block, and an extension to the visits/reception areas.
It is planned to have the new block fully commissioned by mid 2012. In
addition, a contract was awarded in late 2010 for the provision of 70
dormitory style spaces for female prisoners at the Dóchas Centre within the
Mountjoy Campus which is due to be completed by end July 2011.
The Irish Prison Service is currently engaged in a project to upgrade and
re-commission 36 cells with in-cell sanitation coming on stream by mid 2011
in the basement of the "C" Wing at Mountjoy Prison. Work has also
commenced on a project to provide in-cell sanitation in the remaining 74
cells on the same wing which is expected to be completed by the end of the
summer 2011. Depending on the outcome of this project, the Prison Service
will then consider installing in-cell sanitation in other areas of the
prison and indeed to other facilities that do not have in-cell sanitation.
As of yesterday, 4th May 2011, there were 222 prisoners in custody serving
sentences of less than 6 months and 390 serving sentences of between 6 to
12 months. That is over 13% of the prison population of prisoners serving
sentences of 12 month or less. As you know, the first Bill published by me
as Minister for Justice imposes an obligation on Judges, when considering
imposing a sentence of 12 months or less, to first consider the use of
Community Service as an alternative to a custodial sentence. Dail
consideration of this measure has already commenced and it is my hope that
it will be enacted by early July. Whilst undoubtedly an overriding concern
for public safety will result in the continuing imposition of short prison
sentences it is my belief that this legislation will result in a meaningful
reduction in the numbers serving such sentences and instead undertaking
Community Service at lesser cost to the taxpayer and to the benefit of the
wider community. Such an outcome would of course reduce some of the
pressure within our prison system.
Concern has been rightly expressed about the detention of 16 and 17 year
olds in St Patricks Institution. As you are all aware, the Irish Youth
Justice Service will take responsibility for the detention of 16 and 17
year olds when its’ new facilities in Lusk become available. My colleague
Frances Fitzgerald TD, the Minister for Children, will be assuming
responsibility for development of the new facilities in Lusk and,
ultimately, the new Department for Children will be assuming responsibility
for all detention facilities relating to young people convicted of
offences.
My first address to a POA Conference comes at a time of change for all of
us, not just in the Prison Service, but across the entire Public Service
and beyond. We are facing testing challenges over the coming months and
years. It is an unfortunate reality that the resourcing of the Prison
Service, and of the public service as a whole, must take account of our
financial and economic circumstances. If we don’t restore balance to our
public finances, our capacity to continue funding our public services will
be undermined. It is vital for the medium and long-term sustainability of
public services that the gap between Government income and expenditure is
closed.
Closing that gap will not always be easy but there is no question but that
it must be closed. The bottom line is that Ireland has to reduce its
expenditure on public services and that means further difficult and painful
decisions. I doubt that there will be any disagreement between us on one
issue - that we should not have ended up in this situation; however, this
is the appalling legacy that the Government has inherited. One of my
colleagues in Government has made the point that this country is
effectively in receivership. Frankly, that’s how bad it is. However, we
must not reduce our engagement to a counsel of despair. We need to accept
this reality and turn our focus and energies to restoring our economic
sovereignty, getting this country working again and building sustainable
public services that deliver for the citizens of this country and those who
work in them.
I understand the pressures and difficulties experienced by members of the
Prison Service and the rest of the public service; pay reductions are not a
pleasant experience for anyone, though I note that pay in the prison
service is and has been consistently higher than
elsewhere in the public
sector. Avoiding further cuts in pay must be your key priority and to
ensure that we must make sure that the Croke Park Agreement works – that is
the agenda. Reforming our public services, and I mean real reform, is the
only way that we can pay for and deliver good public services. It is of
vital importance in the current dire financial situation confronting our
country that we urgently and rapidly bring about the necessary
transformation.
The Croke Park Agreement provides us with an opportunity to work together
to change the way we do business, to reduce our costs and deliver a better
service. Working together is central to achieving this goal. I have met
with the National Officers of your Association and I am impressed with the
professionalism with which they appear to be engaging with this process to
date. However, it is vital that we now start to see real change happening
on the ground. This exercise is not just about reducing the numbers of
staff working in the prison service – that in itself would be a relatively
straightforward, if unpleasant, task. The purpose of the reform process is
not simply to cut numbers and be more cost-effective, vitally important
though that is, but to see where the service we provide can be improved.
If the reform process is to be credible we must see changes in how services
are delivered and seek to improve significantly in some areas that are
currently deficient.
In particular, I want to see improvements in prison regimes and I support
fully the principles set out in the Agreement as to how this will be
achieved. Implementation of the Agreement will allow us to move towards
lower staffing levels while at the same time allowing us to lay greater
emphasis on a more comprehensive management of prisoner’s sentences and
prisoner rehabilitation. Achieving this will truly be delivering more for
less and this will provide a sustainable basis for the Irish Prison Service
going forward. For my part, I will work with you to achieve this, but I
must also demand that real change happens and that it happens quickly.
I know that new prisoner accommodation at Wheatfield Prison opened last
year on a new staffing model and regime based on the principles set out in
the Agreement. This was a laudable achievement. I know also that the Task
Reviews provided for in the Agreement are underway and will start
delivering soon. Indeed, they must start delivering soon. I want to see new
working practices in place and I want to see the efficiencies that can be
achieved through campus working in place. I also want to see new
management structures and I want to see prison regimes improving. Staff
and management have agreed that these things will happen and I urge all
concerned to get on with the work ahead.
At the end of this process we should have a prison system that is
economically sustainable, fit and safe for staff to work in, that holds
offenders securely and humanely and that contributes to prisoners returning
to society with an improved opportunity of leading a law abiding life. It
is, of course, vital that, in so far as is possible, the manner in which we
deal as a society with those convicted of crime, not only provides
necessary protection to the community and acts as a deterrent but also
results in a substantial reduction in reoffending and recidivism and
affords to prisoners the possibility of becoming productive members of
society. That is the huge challenge we have set ourselves. I strongly
believe that this can be achieved if we work together – it is in all our
interests.
Thank you again for your attention and best wishes for a successful
conference.