Vol. 493 No. 2
8 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the official capacity of each of the State prisons; the number of prisoners in each prison on 19 June 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15300/98]
21 Ms Clune asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the official capacity of each of the State prisons; the number of prisoners in each prison on 19 June 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15297/98]
22 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the official capacity of each of the State prisons; the number of prisoners in each prison on 19 June 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15298/98]
102 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the official capacity of each of the State prisons; the number of prisoners in each prison on 19 June 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15302/98]
103 Mr. D. Carey asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the official capacity of each of the State prisons; the number of prisoners in each prison on 19 June 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15296/98]
114 Mr. D'Arcy asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the official capacity of each of the State prisons; the number of prisoners in each prison on 19 June 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15301/98]
122 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the official capacity of each of the State prisons; the number of prisoners in each prison on 19 June 1998; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15299/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 21, 22, 102, 103, 114 and 122 together.
There are, at present, 14 prisons or places of detention in operation in the State. The number of prisoners which each was designed to accommodate and the current bed capacity, together with the number of prisoners in each on 19 June 1998, is set out in the following table.
|
Institution |
Design Capacity |
Bed Capacity |
Number in Custody on 19 June 1998 |
|
Mountjoy (Male) |
547 |
670 |
738 |
|
Mountjoy (Female) |
60 |
60 |
59 |
|
St. Patrick's Institution |
165 |
172 |
180 |
|
Cork Prison |
150 |
270 |
270 |
|
Limerick (Male) |
133 |
200 |
199 |
|
Limerick (Female) |
12 |
12 |
11 |
|
Portlaoise |
205 |
231 |
160 |
|
Wheatfield |
320 |
360 |
356 |
|
Fort Mitchel |
102 |
102 |
101 |
|
Training Unit |
96 |
96 |
84 |
|
Arbour Hill |
141 |
141 |
141 |
|
Curragh |
68 |
94 |
94 |
|
Castlerea |
188 |
188 |
50 |
|
Loughan House |
85 |
85 |
52 |
|
Shanganagh Castle |
60 |
60 |
48 |
|
Shelton Abbey |
58 |
58 |
54 |
As can be seen from the figures, two institutions were operating above their bed capacity and a further four institutions operating above their design capacity on 19 June last. The biggest problem with overcrowding continues to be in our committal prisons and, in particular, in Mountjoy and St Patrick's Institution. To address this problem I have put in place a substantial programme of prison refurbishment and reconstruction and the Government is on schedule to deliver on the commitment to provide 1,000 additional prisoner places in the first two years of its term of office.
I recently officially opened the new prison at Castlerea which has accommodation for some 188 prisoners in total. The new women's prison at Mountjoy and the remand prison at Cloverhill beside Wheatfield Place of Detention will be on stream around the end of the year with the new 400 man prison in Portlaoise following in autumn 1999. I am actively considering the issue of further prison places beyond this. The extensive refurbishment programme at the older prisons is also continuing. Planning for the replacement of the C wing at Limerick prison has commenced and it is hoped that construction will start at the end of the year. It is also planned to replace the D Block in Portlaoise prison. The refurbishment of Mountjoy prison, over a five year period, including the installation of integral sanitation, is planned to start as soon as possible following the opening of a new remand centre at Cloverhill. While the refurbishment of Mountjoy is long overdue, it would simply not be possible to start it in advance of additional prison accommodation being available.
In addition to providing additional prison spaces I am fully committed, in the interest of providing a balanced treatment of offenders regime, to the development of community sanctions and measures as alternatives to custody and as a means of combating crime. My Department's probation and welfare service has a significant role to play in this regard. A number of alternatives to custody are already in place, for example more than 1,000 offenders are placed on probation orders each year. Another alternative to custody which has proven successful is community service with approximately 1,600 offenders being required by the courts to perform community service each year. A more recent development in the area of alternatives to imprisonment is intensive probation supervision. This is a special community based programme for serious or persistent offenders requiring a more intensive form of supervision. Participants may be referred to this scheme by courts as an alternative to a substantial sentence of two years or more. Furthermore, offenders in custody for similar sentences may be released early from custody towards the end their sentence under intensive supervision. It is my Department's policy to develop probation as a viable alternative to imprisonment. To this end, funding is provided to more than 40 hostels, day centres and workshops.
I again stress my commitment to community sanctions and measures as viable alternatives to custody. I recently established a group to examine the probation and welfare service, its role, needs and organisational structure, and to make recommendations on how the service should develop into the next millennium. I also secured funding for a much needed new IT system for the service which will be developed in 1998 and for three new probation centres. In total, I have increased funding for the probation and welfare service by 27 per cent in 1998 over the 1997 allocation. The measures I have outlined will, in time, alleviate the problem of overcrowding in our prison system.
(Mayo): Will the Minister identify the two prisons in which the overcrowding problem exists and outline their official capacity and the prisoner complement in each case as of last Friday? Is the Minister aware that the most damning denunciation of the prison system was contained in the chaplains' report published on 5 June which set down in detail a list of 79 recommendations for major improvements, not simply in regard to funding but also in regard to attitude, organisation and administration? Heavy emphasis was placed on the fact that vulnerable prisoners were being pressurised into sexual activity, the existence of inhumane conditions, barbaric treatment and, as the Minister acknowledged in the case of two prisons at least, chronic overcrowding. What is the Minister doing to address the issues raised in the report?
I presume the Deputy is referring to the men's and women's prisons at Mountjoy and St. Patrick's Institution. The design capacity of the male prison at Mountjoy is 547, the bed capacity is 670 and the number in custody on 19 June 1998 — the latest figure available to me — was 738. In the female prison, the design capacity is 60, the bed capacity is 60 and the number in custody on 19 June 1998 was 59. In St. Patrick's Institution, the design capacity is 165, the bed capacity is 172 and the number in custody on 19 June 1998 was 180.
Deputy Higgins referred to the overcrowding in Irish prisons and I fully accept that a serious problem exists in this regard. That is why we have embarked upon the biggest building and refurbishment prison programme in the history of the State. It would be remiss of me not to mention in passing that the cancellation — or postponement — of Castlerea prison by the former Minister for Justice has contributed to the current problem as it delayed the prison building programme.
Could the Minister not open the additional accommodation at this stage?
Since coming into office, this Government has put this matter to the forefront and is currently engaged in tangible work to alleviate what I regard as a very serious problem. I received the chaplains' report, to which Deputy Higgins referred, on 19 May this year. In preparing their report, the chaplains understandably placed an overriding emphasis on the spiritual and personal welfare of prisoners. Their unique positions within the prison system give them a valuable oversight of conditions in our penal institutions and, in those circumstances, their views must be taken seriously. As Deputy Higgins pointed out, there are 79 recommendations in the report, but an initial examination of it would suggest that few of the issues raised are new. Some relate to important policy issues which will require detailed consideration, but the more general issues include rehabilitation, overcrowding, poor conditions, drug abuse, medical, psychiatric and psychological services, etc. I have commented on previous occasions on many of the other issues raised, including the drug problem in our prisons and efforts to deal with it by reducing the demand for and supply of drugs, and I accept much work needs to be done in this area. I am keen to extend the number of places available for treatment of sex offenders. There are many recommendations in the report, to which I cannot devote any meaningful time in the short time available, but Deputies can be assured it is being considered in great detail and being given the weight it deserves.
My recollection is that the previous Government approved the building of Castlerea prison, we opened it and the Minister opened an extension to it. This is the second time in the space of an hour I heard the Minister complain and blame his predecessor and the previous Taoiseach about certain matters. I will have an opportunity to deal with those matters on another day.
The Deputy is digging a bigger hole for himself. That was a Cabinet decision.
Having regard to the dividend of the peace process in the North and that probably 400 prisoners will be released over the next two years, will the Minister consider renting some prison spaces from the prison authorities there, as there are a number of prison officers in the North who are worried about their jobs? Those spaces would be useful for detaining hardened prisoners, especially those involved in drug pushing and so on. Will the Minister have a discussion on that to seek to alleviate the serious problem of the lack of capacity in our prisons which is likely to be a problem for some time to come, regardless of the number of prison spaces he opens?
Is that Fine Gael policy?
I must correct the record. I advanced from the Opposition benches the real need to build additional prison spaces. Ultimately Castlerea was sanctioned, then cancelled and the project was postponed.
The Minister's party was only six months in office then, but it had been in Government for seven years on the previous occasion.
I did not open an extension to Castlerea prison; I officially opened the full prison. I assure the Deputy that the prison building programme being undertaken now is the most extensive in the history of the State.
It is a top up.
(Mayo): All approved by the former Minister, Deputy Owen.
Deputy Farrelly should congratulate the Minister on this excellent initiative.
The Deputy has enough problems, he need not worry about this one.
The Deputy is digging a bigger hole for himself.
We are providing a new prison at Portlaoise which will have 400 spaces. It will be a stand alone prison on a site adjacent to Portlaoise prison and will be known as Midlands prison. We are also building a new remand prison at Clover Hill. It will be the main prison in the State when it is completed in the autumn. We are well on course towards providing an additional 1,000 prison places as promised and I anticipate the number provided will be 1,092. Everything I said in relation to the Members of the House is correct. Deputy Farrelly is welcome to take up those matters with me at any time here or elsewhere.
The Minister did not answer my question about discussing the possibility of using prison places in Northern Ireland.
The Deputy asked if I would consider that position, but my answer to his question is no. The number of prison places that will be built in the first two years will adequately address the immediate problem. I am conscious there is an insufficient number of prison places and that is why we have embarked on the most adventurous programme of prison building and refurbishment in the history of the State and why the Government committed itself to the provision of a further 1,000 spaces following the building of the first phase.
The Minister referred to integral sanitation. Will he indicate if it is intended to end of practice of slopping out in prisons?
In so far as I know that practice is still in operation at Mountjoy prison and it is intended to end it in that prison and to ensure it will not be a practice in the future.
