Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 October 2010
22 Deputy Brian O’Shea asked the Minister for Justice and Law Reform his plans to proceed with the plan to allow the Irish Prison Service to assume responsibility for escorting remand prisoners to and from court; if he will confirm that the Irish Prison Service has said that it cannot afford to take on responsibility for this task; the number of Garda hours used to provide this service each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35372/10]
View answerAs part of the Proposal for Organisational Change in the Irish Prison Service (IPS), which was agreed with staff representatives in 2005, a dedicated Prison Service Escort Corp (PSEC) was established. Essentially, this is a dedicated corps of staff whose task is to escort prisoners to and from court in new cellular vehicles, thus eliminating the need to resort to overtime working as had been the practice heretofore.
During 2008 preliminary discussions were held between the Irish Prison Service and An Garda Síochána in relation to the potential for the PSEC to undertake some escorts that are currently being carried out by An Garda Síochána; specifically the escorting of remand prisoners. These discussions identified that there would be a necessary increase in Irish Prison Service staffing levels to allow it to undertake this work. The IPS were not at that time in a position to put the necessary additional staffing in place, and in September 2008 informed An Garda Síochána of that position. The IPS has, however, since the opening of the new Criminal Courts Complex in Dublin taken responsibility for some escorts that were previously carried out by An Garda Síochána.
In the context of the Public Service Agreement 2010-2014 my Department has been examining the potential for the delivery of efficiencies through greater cooperation and interaction between elements of the criminal justice system and issues such as this will be considered in that context. The following tables show the number of hours expended by Garda and civilian personnel in performing duties relating to the transportation of remand prisoners to / from Court by An Garda Síochána for 2009 and 2010 (to roster ending 19th September, 2010)
|
Rostered Hrs |
Overtime Hrs |
Total |
|
|
Garda |
1,784 |
1,377 |
3,161 |
|
Civilian |
6,552 |
4,250 |
10,802 |
|
Total |
8,336 |
5,627 |
13,963 |
|
Rostered Hrs |
Overtime Hrs |
Total |
|
|
Garda |
1,204 |
720 |
1,924 |
|
Civilian |
6,528 |
3,977 |
10,505 |
|
Total |
7,732 |
4,698 |
12,430 |
