Written Answers Nos. 250-265
250. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons in custody that are electronically monitored while on temporary release in each of the years 2013 to 2016 and to date in 2017; the number of days each person was on release while electronically monitored; the cost per prisoner per day; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51078/17]
View answer251. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of providing electronic tagging for an additional 500 prisoners per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51079/17]
View answer252. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of providing electronic tagging for an additional 1,000 prisoners per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51080/17]
View answer253. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of providing electronic tagging for an additional 1,500 prisoners per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51081/17]
View answer254. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of providing electronic tagging for an additional 2,000 prisoners per annum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51082/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 250 to 254, inclusive, together.
I am to advise the Deputy that Part 10 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 provides for the introduction of electronic monitoring.
Following a competitive tender in 2014, a company was awarded the contract for the supply of electronic monitoring of prisoners for the Irish Prison Service.
I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that electronic monitoring is used to monitor some prisoners who have been granted Temporary Release including for the purpose of the Community Return/Support Scheme. The system is also used to monitor some hospital in-patients who have been granted temporary release from Prison. It thus allows for a significant reduction in staffing costs for hospital escorts.
The current service provider allows for the provision of up to 50 electronic tags to the Irish Prison Service. As of Sunday 26th November 2017 there have been 113 prisoners electronically monitored while on temporary release since March 2013. This figure includes 7 cases who are currently being monitored. The total cost of this service to the Irish Prison Service to date is €529,527. The contract requires a minimum usage of 20 tags.
I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the average cost per prisoner is impacted upon by the total number of days per year that prisoners are electronic monitored. The table below provides the information as requested by the Deputy in PQ 51078/17.
|
YEAR |
NO. OF PRISONERS TAGGED |
TOTAL NO. OF DAYS |
AVERAGE COST PER DAY PER PRISONER/TAG |
|
2013 (March to December) |
18 |
1564 |
€15.51 |
|
2014 (January to December) |
23 |
2757 |
€26.83 |
|
*2015 (January to December) |
8 |
716 |
€214.64 |
|
2016 (January to December) |
22 |
2752 |
€47.13 |
|
2017 (January to October) |
42 |
2274 |
€64.92 |
The current contract provides for a maximum of 50 tags. Therefore it is not possible to provide the Deputy with the information requested in respect of the cost of providing additional monitoring for 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 2,000 prisoners as this would be outside the current contract parameters.
255. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons charged with an offence under section 12 or 13 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 that are currently on bail pending trial; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51083/17]
View answer256. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons charged with an offence under section 12 or 13 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 that were on bail in each of the years 2013 to 2016 pending trial; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51084/17]
View answer257. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons charged with an offence in 2016 that were on bail for another offence at the time of being so charged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51085/17]
View answer258. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons charged with a serious offence attracting up to a maximum of ten years in prison currently on bail pending trial; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51086/17]
View answer259. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons charged with a serious offence attracting up to a maximum of ten years in prison on bail pending trial in each of the years 2013 to 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51087/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 255 to 259, inclusive, together.
It has not been possible to collate the information sought by the Deputy in the time available. However, I have requested a report from the Courts Service in this matter and I will contact the Deputy directly when this report is to hand.
260. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost of providing electronic tagging for a person on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51088/17]
View answer261. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost of providing electronic tagging for 100 persons on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51089/17]
View answer262. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost of providing electronic tagging for 500 persons on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51090/17]
View answer263. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the estimated cost of providing electronic tagging for 1,000 persons on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51091/17]
View answer264. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of providing electronic tagging for 2,000 persons on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51092/17]
View answer265. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost of providing electronic tagging for 2,500 persons on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51093/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 260 to 265, inclusive, together.
I must inform the Deputy that I am not currently in a position to provide any estimates in relation to the costs outlined in his questions.
By way of some background, the Deputy will be aware that provisions in respect of electronic monitoring of persons on bail are currently contained in section 6B of the Bail Act 1997, but have not yet been commenced.
Section 7 of the Criminal Justice Act 2017, enacted on 28 June 2017, amends these existing provisions for the electronic monitoring of persons on bail to facilitate the focused and targeted use of monitoring in appropriate cases. The Act will provide that electronic monitoring may be imposed as a bail condition if the prosecution applies to the court for such a condition.
In parallel with the progress of the Act through the Oireachtas, a Working Group on Electronic Monitoring was established in my Department in December 2016. The Group, which has been tasked with examining a range of issues surrounding the implementation of electronic monitoring in an Irish context, is comprised of officials from the Department of Justice and Equality, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
It is anticipated that the Group will submit their final report to the Management Board of my Department in the near future. The Management Board will then consider the recommendations in the context of bringing the relevant legislative provisions into force.
The Deputy will be aware of the impact that speculation in relation to costs can have on commercial matters, particularly where there may be a requirement for a procurement process. In this context, I would expect that any recommendations made by the Working Group, which have a cost element associated with them, would be fully examined by the Management Board and careful thought given to any procurement implications that might arise.
Accordingly, it would be inappropriate and unhelpful to engage in any such speculation at this stage.
