asked the Minister for Justice if, in view of the new methods of corrective training of prisoners now generally accepted as desirable, his Department propose to provide facilities by means of refresher courses so that prison officers may be kept abreast of modern developments in their profession.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Corrective Training of Prisoners.
29.
Mr. O'Leary
Training of prison personnel is now a normal part of prison administration. As well as the training arrangements for recruit and ordinary prison officers, which provide for refresher courses, special instruction is given to the staff concerned with the prison medical services and the corrective training scheme. Advanced courses, which have been planned for the supervisory ranks, will commence later this year.
Under arrangements sponsored by the Council of Europe, senior officers are facilitated in studying the penal systems of other countries and, within the past two years, two Governors and a Deputy Governor have attended study courses in Britain.
30.
Mr. O'Leary
asked the Minister for Justice whether there has been any relapse into criminal activities following their release by those preselected prisoners who have passed through the hostel in Mountjoy since its inception.
The grant of daily working release as part of the corrective training system was introduced in April, 1963. The hostel facilities for trainees became available in July, 1964.
Between April, 1963 and July, 1964, 37 trainees were given a final discharge and of this number 6 were subsequently re-committed to prison. Since July, 1964 a further 43 trainees were released and none of them has been re-committed.
While the figures are very encouraging I feel that, at this early stage, it would be premature to draw any firm conclusions as to the value of the corrective training system.