Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 September 2014
314. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if, in view of the revelations on a television programme on 15 September 2014 regarding support services available to discharged female prisoners from the Dóchas Centre, she will increase the funding available to ensure greater supports are provided to these women to ensure they do not re-offend and return to prison. [35572/14]
View answerThe Irish Prison Service is developing a comprehensive approach to prisoner release planning, to include a prisoner release policy, related protocols and standard operating procedures. It is intended to have these completed by October 2014.
The Irish Prison Service aims to ensure all releases from Irish prisons and places of detention are planned releases. The policy will standardise pre-release planning across the Irish Prison Service Estate and ensure the informed and effective transition of the offender from prison to the community, in compliance with statutory, legal and sentencing provisions.
This policy will apply to all prisons and places of detention in the Irish Prison Service estate and covers such areas as: Housing/Accommodation Needs, Financial Supports, Healthcare, Public Safety and Statutory Requirements, Families & Personal Relationships, Education, Training and Employment.
It is recognised that a serious deficiency exists in the infrastructural provision for female prisoners, in the context of a transition from a traditional, secure custodial location to a facility with a lower security level, prior to release into the community. Male prisoners can transfer from a closed prison to the Training Unit, a semi-open institution with a focus on vocational training and an established programme of escalating release to education, work and training or addiction treatment in the community. Suitable male prisoners can transfer to one of two open centres in the jurisdiction, where they can enjoy a significantly lower level of supervision and security, along with more relaxed visiting arrangements. Transfer to such facilities from closed prisons is of enormous value to prisoners, in the context of normalisation, increasing personal responsibility, consolidating family supports and easing the transition from custody to community, all of which contribute towards reducing tendencies towards reoffending.
To date, no such facilities have been available to female prisoners; however, I am informed by my officials that plans are well advanced for the construction of a day and residential campus in North Dublin to meet the needs of vulnerable women. This will offer a safe environment with day and residential programmes and services offered to single women who need respite and care. The services provided will be offered in such a way to support the women to become as independent as possible.
Many women are sent from the courts to the Dóchas Centre on short sentences of less than a year - usually for non-violent matters, including Theft, Burglary, TAIB (Threatening, Abusive, and Insulting Behaviour) and Intoxication in a Public Place. The fact they are serving short sentences gives the prison-based services little time to identify their issues and address their needs. Often the Dóchas Centre is a place of respite for this category of offender. It is the experience of the Irish Prison Service that many women are imprisoned directly or indirectly because of addiction, mental health, poverty and homelessness. The overall picture is that women offenders are likely to be poor, have limited education and are either unemployed or in low skilled employment. Many experience accommodation problems, often resulting in homelessness, and problems of addiction and/or mental health often feature. Significant numbers of women offenders have experienced abuse, either in childhood or in adulthood. Many women offenders are mothers of young children and may struggle with parenting because of their personal circumstances and unmet needs.
This new facility will play a significant role in providing a gradual, supported transition from prison to community for women prisoners. The campus will be subject to a management steering group comprising representatives of the statutory agencies involved, they are: Dublin City Council (Lead), the HSE, The Probation Service, CDTEB and Irish Prison Service. The campus will also be used as a community resource for the people of Finglas so that the campus truly reflects a community based resource.
