Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 12 Dec 2001

Vol. 546 No. 4

Written Answers. - Prisons Management.

Róisín Shortall

Question:

129 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will report on the number of prisoners in all prisons at end of October 2001; the number of prison officers on the same date; the average prisoner to prison officer ratio throughout the European Union; and his views on the Irish ratio in comparison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32061/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

On 1 November 2001, the total number of prisoners in all prisons was 3,177 and total prison staff, including management, trades, industrial and medical staff, was 3,143. The ratio of prisoners to prison staff on that date was, therefore, 1.01:1. This is an overall ratio and individual ratios vary from prison to prison.

Details on average prisoner to prison staff ratios in prison services in the European Union are contained in the following table which has been extracted from the Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics – SPACE 1, "Populations of Penal Institutions"– Survey 2000 issued in January this year. The table shows statistics for 1 September 2000, the most recent date available. It should be noted that the Council of Europe statistics, including those for Ireland, relate to custodial staff excluding management staff.

A number of factors account for the lower prisoner-staff ratio in Ireland. These include older prison estates; smaller institutions with a resulting less favourable economy of scale; and more liberal prisoner regimes. The Irish Prison Service is addressing the current low prisoner to staff ratio through the modernisation of prison facilities including greater use of technology. In general, staffing levels and arrangements are the product of operational circumstances which have been in place over many years against a background, at times, of very considerable tension and difficulty. The assessment of the man hours required to deliver agreed regime activities and services and the development of associated systems of staff attendance and deployment practices are being addressed in a comprehensive and strategic way through the ongoing staffing and operations review team, SORT, and the strategic effectiveness programme, STEP, process. This process, involving detailed consultations with Prison Service management and the Prison Officers' Association, is at an advanced stage.

Average Prisoner to Prison Custodial Staff ratio in the European Union as of 1 September, 2000

Reference: Council of Europe, SPACE 2000.19

Country	Total number of prisoners	Total number of custodial staff	Ratio of prisoners to custodial staff
Austria	6,896	3,111	2.2:1
Belgium	8,671	4,904	1.8:1
Denmark	3,279	2,588	1.3:1
Finland	No returnmade	No returnmade	No returnmade
France	48,835	19,865	2.5:1
Germany	No returnmade	No returnmade	No returnmade
Greece	8,038	1,711	4.7:1
Ireland	2,887	2,827	1.0:1
Italy	.	.	.
Luxembourg	394	.	.
Netherlands	.	.	.
Portugal	No returnmade	No returnmade	No returnmade
Spain	45,044	13,576	2.7:1
Sweden	5,678	3,825	1.5:1
United Kingdom:
England and Wales	65,666	28,648	2.3:1
Northern Ireland	980	1,589	0.6:1
Scotland	5,855	3,230	1.8:1

Note: The dots . indicate that the data is not available or that the information provided could not be used for reasons of consistency.