Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2015
253. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she is aware of the reaction and challenges posed by a person (details supplied) being moved into the CB Unit in Mountjoy Prison, Dublin 7; and if there is sufficient consultation with prison staff on such matters. [19658/15]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the prisoner in question (details supplied) was transferred to the Challenging Behaviour Unit (CBU) in Mountjoy Prison on 31 March 2015 for operational reasons. As the Deputy is aware on 23 April 2015, the prisoner carried out an unprovoked assault with a weapon on prison staff in which they received serious head and other injuries. This assault followed a number of other serious unprovoked attacks on prison staff in recent weeks. These assaults were of a more serious nature than those which would usually occur in our prisons.
The work of prison staff is challenging and demanding and dealing with offenders, many of whom have been convicted for violent offences or have a history of violence, brings with it a higher degree of risk than most other professions. However, I can assure the Deputy that while the risk might be greater - no act of violence against staff is acceptable or tolerated.
It should be noted that officials in the Irish Prison Service deal with over 8,500 prisoner transfers annually throughout the prison Estate. In addition, a large number of internal movements of prisoners occur on a daily basis. The Deputy will appreciate that for obvious logistical, operational and security reasons, those individual transfers are not discussed with members of staff.
The Irish Prison Service has successfully introduced a number of measures across the prison estate such as, hand-held metal detectors, netting over prison yards, boss chairs and security screening machines to detect and prevent weapons from entering the prison to limit the scope of acts of violence. In addition, new prisoner programmes have been introduced such as the Incentivised Regimes policy, which provides for a differentiation of privileges between prisoners according to their level of engagement with services and quality of behaviour. The objective is to provide tangible incentives to prisoners to participate in structured activities and to reinforce good behaviour, leading to a safer and more secure prison environment.
The Deputy will be aware that in light of the recent serious incidents, including the incident carried out by the prisoner referred, the Irish Prison Service is implementing a number of additional measures to enhance staff safety including the introduction of personal protective equipment such as stab vest for high risk escorts. In addition further training is to be provided regarding de-escalation, the use of force and the use of safety equipment.
