Vol. 572 No. 4
124 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps being taken to reduce the cost of keeping prisoners in custody; the reason it costs more than ?200,000 per year to keep a prisoner in Portlaoise Prison, but less than half that amount in Mountjoy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23366/03]
Pay costs – basic pay, allowances and overtime – account for approximately 75% of running costs in the Prison Service. The average cost of keeping an offender is calculated by averaging out the current running costs of the prisons and places of detention against the average number of offenders in those institutions. These costs include certain items which are fixed regardless of the number of offenders in custody, for example, utilities, staff salaries, etc. It also re-allocates the cost of central services, for example, Prison Service headquarters, the Prison Service training centre and IT to each prison institution.
The relatively high cost of keeping a prisoner in Portlaoise Prison arises primarily because of the unique nature of the prisoners held there and the consequent security considerations, which require a higher staff to prisoner ratio. The cost is in the order of €206,700 per year, per prisoner based on 2002 figures.
I am fully committed to addressing the issue of costs across the Prison Service with particular reference to the cost of overtime. In that context I refer the Deputy to my recent reply to Parliamentary Question No. 192 of 9 October last concerning my proposals for the ending of overtime by prison officers and the position regarding negotiations with the Prison Officers' Association. In that response, I indicated that a proposal for change currently with the staff side for ballot involves organisational change and revised working and attendance arrangements for staff. It is aimed at replacing overtime costs by adopting a more efficient annual hours attendance system.
Overtime costs alone in the Prison Service are running at an estimated €63 million to €64 million per annum, which constitutes in excess of 20% of the costs of the Prison Service. The Prison Service proposal to eliminate overtime holds out the prospect of substantial savings annually in hours worked by staff and in salary costs. The cost of the Prison Service would be substantially reduced if this reform were adopted.
I am keen to secure staff agreement for the measures necessary to reduce prison service costs. In the event that agreement is not forthcoming in the near future, I will have no option but to introduce a range of short and long-term measures to reduce Prison Service expenditure. While I am hopeful that agreement can still be reached, my officials have recently informed staff representatives that plans will be refined and action will follow if by end October an agreed way forward is not clearly in prospect.
