Vol. 364 No. 4
asked the Minister for Justice if repairs to Spike Island have been completed; the total cost of such repairs; if policy in relation to the category of prisoners to be held there has changed since the establishment of this facility; and if he will make a statement regarding its future use.
26.
asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners accommodated on Spike Island during the month of February 1986; the criteria he has set for prisoners who are sent there; the steps he has taken to ensure that proper alarms and back-up security are available; at what stage is the rebuilding and refurbishing programme; and the estimated capital expenditure planned for Spike Island in 1986.
I propose to take Question No. 5 and priority Question No. 26 together.
Fort Mitchel can currently provide accommodation at any one time for 50 offenders. During February a total of 70 offenders were held at the Fort. As has always been the case offenders are transferred to the Fort following an assessment by staff of the transferring institution as to their suitability, if necessary following consultation with the governor and staff of Fort Mitchel itself.
As indicated in reply to Question No. 22 of 27 November last, work is proceeding to increase the capacity of the institution to 80. No decision has yet been taken on the question of redeveloping the remainder of the Fort area, including that portion damaged during the disturbances there on 1 September last. In those circumstances, and as has already been pointed out by my predecessor, it is not a question of repairs and the question of the cost of repairs accordingly does not arise.
I do not believe it would serve the public interest to comment publicly on the alarm arrangements in operation or the arrangements for back-up forces to be available in event of an emergency arising at the Fort.
Provision has been made in the Estimates for the Prison Vote to cover expenditure on the work already in progress at the Fort — this is expected to come to about £250,000 exclusive of the pay of prison trades officers employed on the project. In addition, provision has been included for work on the redevelopment of the remainder of the Fort in the event of its being decided to follow that course of action.
Outline plans for this redevelopment, drawn up by the Office of Public Works, are at present being considered in my Department but since, as I have said, a decision has not yet been made, I cannot say if any capital expenditure will be incurred in this work this year.
Is the facility fully secure? Would the Minister tell the House if he is totally confident that it is not possible to have a repeat of previous occurrences? Finally, and most importantly, would he confirm that it is Government policy to maintain this facility as part of the permanent long term prison facilities of the State? I am particularly interested in the latter question.
I am satisfied with the progress of the work but I can give no undertaking that there will be no further disturbances in that or in any other institution, although I hope we can avoid disturbances of that kind in any one of our institutions. As regards the last part of the question, as I said, outline plans for the redevelopment of the remainder of the Fort have been drawn up but no decision has yet been made.
Do I take it that it is not yet decided by the Government if the Spike Island facility is to be a permanent part of the Irish prison system. Do I take it that that decision has not yet been taken?
No, the Deputy may not——
May I take the opposite?
I am sorry, but if the Deputy would listen for the answer without jumping in so quickly, he might be more satisfied. As I said, the work that is going on at the moment is designed to bring the capacity of the institution to 80. I do not foresee in the foreseeable future — if I might use that tautology — a situation in which we can do without that capacity. From that point of view the Deputy may take it that it is my intention, and the Government's intention, that that would continue to be a part of our prison capacity. The decision that has not yet been made is whether we redevelop any of Fort Mitchel for prison accommodation.
Could the Minister tell the House if there is a proper alarm and back-up security system there now? Is he satisfied that there is a proper alarm system? This is one of the problems which arose before he became Minister for Justice, because it became evident that there was no such system there. The Minister said it is not in the public interest to comment on this but we do not want to know the details. All we want to know is that they exist. Will the Minister give an assurance that a proper alarm and back-up security system is available and, roughly what is the time scale? Will this back-up be available reasonably quickly and how quickly?
The answer is yes and, for reasons which I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, I do not intend to go into time scales.
Is the Minister aware that the residents of Spike Island and others had been assured that a back-up service would be available within five minutes? I do not want the Minister to disclose anything of a security nature but we want him to assure us that necessary and speedy action can be taken if the need arises. Did the Minister say in his reply that the capital cost this year would be £250,000 plus the cost of repairing the damage done during the disturbance, or is it £250,000 including the cost of repairing and refurbishing?
I have already said I am satisfied that the alarm and back-up service is adequate to deal with any problem that might arise. On the second part of the question, I repeat what I have already said: no decision has yet been taken on redeveloping the remainder of the Fort area, including that portion damaged during the disturbances there on 1 September last. In those circumstances, and as has already been pointed out by my predecessor, it is not a question of repairs and therefore the question of the cost of the repairs does not arise. It is estimated that expenditure on work already in progress at the Fort will be £250,000 this year, exclusive of the cost of paying for the prison trades officers employed on the project.
