Gay Mitchell
Question:17 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice the current position regarding the programme for sex offenders in Arbour Hill Prison, Dublin 7.
Written Answers. - Sex Offender Treatment Programme.
Seán Barrett
Question:21 Mr. Barrett asked the Minister for Justice the number of offenders in Arbour Hill Prison, Dublin, who have agreed to avail of the sex offenders treatment programme.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:27 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Justice if she will make a statement on the recent visit of officials of her Department to Canada and the US to study rehabilitation programmes for sex offenders; and when she will be in a position to establish a similar programme in this country.
Gay Mitchell
Question:53 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice if prison officers will be involved in the delivery of the programme for sex offenders in Arbour Hill Prison, Dublin.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 17, 21, 27, and 53 together.
Last July I published a discussion paper on the treatment of sex offenders in prison and invited views from interested parties. Subsequently, I accepted the group therapy approach recommended in the discussion paper and have commenced the process of putting it in place.
I appointed a special steering group within the Department to direct delivery of the programme. This group is chaired by a senior official in my Department and includes the director of prison medical services and the Governor of Arbour Hill Prison in which the programme will operate initially. Two programme leaders were appointed to the programme last year — one senior clinical psychologist and one senior probation and welfare officer. Two further probation and welfare officers have been assigned to it recently. There are now two male and two female staff who will be directly involved in delivering the programme. The support of the staff of Arbour Hill Prison is regarded as crucial and all staff there are being given a special course to prepare them for it. This preparation, which consists of day long seminars open to every staff member, commenced in April and finished recently. An information leaflet has been given to offenders in Arbour Hill to make them aware of what is proposed and this will be followed up with a series of explanatory talks in the coming weeks. Additionally, the Prison Officer's Association and the teachers who work in Arbour Hill Prison have been extensively briefed by my officials.
As part of the process of preparing for implementation, I arranged for a comprehensive study visit to be made by the programme leaders to see relevant approaches in Canada and Vermont, USA. The visit was completed on 31 January 1994. From the extensive briefing I received on it afterwards I gathered that the North American treatment approaches supported the group therapy approach. I also arranged for the two leaders to attend a special two week training course in the UK and a course in the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in recent weeks.
It is intended to commence the sex offender treatment programme in Arbour Hill Prison later this month. While prison officers will not be directly involved initially in the actual delivery of the programme, their involvement will be significant. Their position will be revised in due course when some experience has been built up with the programme. It is expected that ten offenders will take part in the first group.