Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 November 2014
315. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which adequate and appropriate space remains available throughout the Prison Service to accommodate the various categories of prisoner with particular reference to the need to segregate serious offenders from those found guilty of less serious crime; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44384/14]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that the overall bed capacity of the Irish Prison System is 4,126. On 14th November, 2014 there were 3,789 prisoners in custody. This represents 92% occupancy.
I wish to inform the Deputy that at the end of October 2014, there were 3,143 usable cells in the prison system. 2,026 prisoners were accommodated in single cells which accounted for 53% of all prisoners (3,806). In addition, there were 687 cells which accommodated 2 prisoners, 94 cells which accommodated 3 prisoners and 28 cells which accommodated 4 or more prisoners. As the Deputy will appreciate the Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts into its custody and does not have the option of refusing committals.
I can inform the Deputy that all committals to the prison service are dealt with in a manner which ensures the safety of the prisoner themselves, the staff and the entire prisoner population. Each prisoner is placed in accommodation deemed appropriate to the individual based on the information made available to the prison staff on committal, which would include, health, offence, criminal connections and possible conflicts with other prisoners.
There are 14 institutions in the Irish prison system consisting of 11 traditional 'closed' prisons, 2 open centres and 1 semi-open centre. The profile of each institution is outlined in the following table:
|
Prison |
Profile |
Security |
|
Arbour Hill |
Closed - long term sentenced prisoners |
Medium |
|
Castlerea |
Closed - remand and sentenced prisoners - Connaught region |
Medium |
|
Cloverhill |
Closed - primarily caters for remands prisoners |
Medium |
|
Cork |
Closed - remands and sentenced prisoners |
Medium |
|
Dóchas Centre |
Closed female prison |
Medium |
|
Limerick |
Closed - remands and sentenced prisoners including females |
Medium |
|
Loughan House |
Open Centre |
Low |
|
Midlands Prison |
Closed - special wing to include sex offenders |
Medium |
|
Mountjoy |
Closed - main committal prison for Dublin area |
Medium |
|
Portlaoise |
Closed - committals from Special Criminal Court and includes subversive prisoners |
High |
|
Shelton Abbey |
Open Centre |
Low |
|
St. Patrick's Institution |
Closed - remand prison only for young offenders. |
Medium |
|
Training Unit |
Semi Open - strong emphasis on Work and Training |
Low |
|
Wheatfield |
Closed - Place of detention - strong emphasis on Work and Training |
Medium |
The Deputy will appreciate that my officials are concentrating on aligning our prisoner population numbers with the Inspector of Prisons' recommendations in those prisons with the highest levels of over-crowding, namely Cork Prison, Limerick Prison and the Dóchas Centre.
Refurbishment of the Mountjoy B and C wings was completed in 2012. Refurbishment of the A wing commenced in early January 2013 and was completed early this year. Work and refurbishment work on the D wing is almost complete. It is hoped that the works which include in-cell sanitation will be completed by the third quarter of 2015.
In relation to Cork Prison, a contract for the construction of a new prison to replace the existing facility was awarded late last year and construction began in January, 2014 with an estimated completion date in the third quarter of 2015.
The Business Case for the Limerick Prison redevelopment project was submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in June of last year and approval has been received to advance the project to detailed design stage.
