asked the Minister for Justice if he is prepared to set up an organisation that might fairly represent prisoners with a view to improving prison conditions.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Prison Conditions.
12.
Persons in custody, either in prisons or in other places of detention have, as of right, access to the governor, to the visiting committee, and to the superintending officer of my Department and they are also free to communicate direct in writing with my Department. They can see any of the persons I have mentioned and can request to be interviewed in private. This right is regularly exercised and is unrestricted, notwithstanding the occasional abuse of it. In addition, the services of full time chaplains and welfare officers are available in all custodial centres.
If what the Deputy has in mind is that I should allow persons committed to custody by the courts to organise or to act in concert, or to act in a representative way on behalf of other persons in custody, or to participate in the administration of custodial establishments, my reply must be that I am not.
Could the Minister say what bodies are represented on the visiting committee? There have been a number of complaints in the Press about conditions, admittedly from ex-inmates and inmates, but the public would like to be assured that every effort is being made to rehabilitate people rather than just locking them up.
There are no bodies, as such, entitled, because of the nature of their particular association, to be represented on the visiting committee. These visiting committees are broadly based and representative of the community. There is no desire on the part of the Department, or on my part, just to lock up people for the sake of locking them up. I am very conscious of the need to rehabilitate prisoners and to restore them to society as full and good individuals.
Mr. Flanagan
Is the Minister aware of experiments carried out, I believe in Holland, in which prisoners were given certain functions in regard to the running of their prison? If the Minister is not so aware would he make inquiries and ascertain how this worked?
I am not aware of any situation where the prisoners had any function in the administration of prisons. My Department have studied penal systems in certain European countries and I am not aware that they have come across any such system. I will have the matter investigated and see if anything like what the Deputy has suggested would be apt here.
I was in such a prison and I will, if the Minister wishes, give him details of what I observed.
I would be glad to receive such information.
Are there trained social workers on each visiting committee for each prison?
In the sense that the question is, "Are professional social workers on the visiting committees?" the answer is in the negative.