Vol. 541 No. 3
152 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a person (details supplied) was transferred to another prison; if this person will be referred back to Castlerea Prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22695/01]
The person referred to is serving concurrent sentences of 12 and six months for intimidation and assault. He was transferred from Castlerea Prison to Fort Mitchel Place of Detention, for operational reasons, on 19 September 2001.
Transfers for operational purposes may be necessary for a variety of reasons including overcrowding, the need to protect a prisoner from other prisoners, to prevent planned disruption, as part of a penalty for breaches of prison discipline or simply to reallocate cell space to another prisoner or group of prisoners. This particular transfer was effected because of overcrowding in Castlerea Prison which necessitated transfers to other closed institutions. On the day in question there were 194 prisoners in custody in Castlerea Prison, which has a bed capacity for 182 prisoners, and in order to free up space a number of prisoners were moved to Fort Mitchel Place of Detention which had seven vacancies on that day.
Where possible, the Prison Service attempts to accommodate prisoners in the institution nearest to their home address. However, this is not always possible, particularly in committal institutions which have to take in prisoners directly from the courts and would clog up very quickly without transferring prisoners to other suitable locations. Castlerea Prison had 900 committals in the year 2000 and it is obvious that not all of these prisoners could serve their full sentences at that location. I can, however, inform the Deputy that two additional houses have recently been constructed in the "Grove" area of the prison. These houses, when operational, will cater for 16 additional prisoners and it is expected that these facilities will be brought into use by year end. In addition, planning is under way for the construction of a new cell block which will provide 85 additional places. Its construction will commence mid next year.
I am informed by the director general of the Prisons Service that the person referred to has not applied for a return to Castlerea Prison. However, I would have no objections to such a transfer taking place. I should point out though that, for reasons referred to above, spaces in Castlerea Prison are at a premium and it is not always possible to arrange such movements in a short time frame.
