Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 November 2013
100. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on his discussions with Secretary of State Villiers and Minister Ford on prisoner rights in Northern Ireland jails; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48870/13]
View answerThe Minister for Justice David Ford MLA and I have regular discussions about the situation in Northern Ireland. Since the 2010 agreement at Hillsborough, Minister Ford has responsibility for policing and criminal justice policy in Northern Ireland. In the post Hillsborough period, co-operation on Justice issues has gone from strength to strength and co-operation between the PSNI and an Garda Síochána is outstanding. The Government’s focus is to ensure that policing and justice systems which are in place in Northern Ireland are robust and consistent with the principles and values of the Good Friday Agreement and the other agreements for which we are co-guarantors.
Prisons policy, including the issue of prisoner rights, forms a central part of Minster’s Ford’s remit. An executive agency, namely the Northern Ireland Prison Service, implements prison policy and a Prisoner Ombudsman operates completely independently of the Northern Ireland Prison Service with full authority to investigate complaints from prisoners and visitors to prisoners in Northern Ireland as well as deaths in custody.
I agree with Minister Ford’s recent analysis that delivery of a reformed justice system, including the prison service, has a major part to play in building and protecting a more positive future for Northern Ireland. We believe that the full implementation of the 40 key recommendations made in a major report into prison reform by Dame Anne Owers is the best way to ensure that the rights of all prisoners are protected and that prison conditions are of an acceptable standard.
As the Deputy will be aware, I continue to raise with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, a small number of prisoner cases which have arisen from the exercise of certain non-devolved security powers. My officials in the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat keep me updated on developments related to such cases on an ongoing basis. In this context, I fully appreciate the ongoing contact between the Deputy and other members of the Oireachtas, who have a genuine interest in prison reform in Northern Ireland, with the relevant officials in my Department.
