Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 February 2014
210. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which segregation within the prison service exists to ensure that first-time offenders are not allowed to integrate with serious habitual criminals with a view to ensuring rehabilitative training and encouragement towards a law-abiding lifestyle for first-time offenders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10255/14]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that there is a standard operational procedure in place to ensure that upon committal, all offenders are assessed and accommodated appropriately according to their needs and specific security status. Dedicated committals units have been established in all committal prisons for this purpose.
To segregate first time committals from the general prisoner population would greatly reduce their access to services.
As the Deputy will be aware, 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 Irish Prison Service has also been expanding the number of accredited vocational courses and opportunities available to prisoners in Work Training in recent years. Enhanced partnership arrangements with accrediting bodies such as City and Guilds, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), and the Guild of Launders and Cleaners and the centralising of coordination and quality assurance arrangements have enabled the Irish Prison Service to extend the number of available courses and activities with certification.
The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of the 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.
