Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 March 2013
185. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality out of the total number of prisoners serving sentences over the past three years in respect of first-time but serious criminal offences, who have been offered rehabilitative training and or education, if all prisoners in this category have had access to such facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11903/13]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware from my replies to previous Parliamentary Questions that the statistics requested are not centrally recorded by the Irish Prison Service and to provide such information would require the allocation of a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and resources.
The Irish Prison Service provides a wide range of rehabilitative programmes that include education, vocational training, healthcare, psychiatric, psychological, counselling, welfare and spiritual services. These programmes are available in all prisons and all prisoners are eligible to use the services. On committal, all prisoners are interviewed by the Governor and are informed of the services available in the prison. At this point prisoners may be referred to services or they can self refer at a later date. Where Governors consider, on the information available, that a prisoner needs a particular intervention they will initiate a referral.
The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of the new Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. There is a clear commitment in the Strategy to enhance sentence planning including Integrated Sentence Management and the delivery of prison based rehabilitative programmes such as education, work training and resettlement programmes.
