Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 June 2020
315. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the timeline for extending the remit of the Office of the Ombudsman to include prisoner complaints; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13324/20]
View answerA prisoner complaints system was introduced by the Irish Prison Service in November 2012, based on a model recommended by the then-Inspector of Prisons, the late Judge Michael Reilly who was independent of Government in the exercise of his functions. This system categorises complaints according to their nature and seriousness, ranging from the most serious 'Category A' complaint through to a 'Category F' complaint. Further information on this system is available on the website of the Irish Prison Service at the following link: www.irishprisons.ie/prisoner-services/prisoner-complaints/.
The Inspector carried out a review of this system in June 2016 and made a number of recommendations. His report “Review, Evaluation and Analysis of the Operation of the present Irish Prison Service Complaints Procedure ” is available on my Department's website - www.justice.ie.
As the Deputy will be aware, among the key recommendations in that report was that complaints by prisoners should be subject to review by the Ombudsman, who would also be able to deal with complaints directly in the case of undue delay. This recommendation was accepted and my officials, including officials from the Irish Prison Service, have been progressing the matter, with the aim of establishing a more effective complaints system for prisoners.
I understand that, in discussions on these matters with the Ombudsman, it has been agreed that his engagement with the process will begin after the new complaints procedure has been introduced and bedded down as an internal process in the Irish Prison Service in the first instance.
These changes to the Irish Prison Service process requires administrative supports such as additional personnel, changes to the Prison Rules, drafting of new policy documents and a new ICT system. I am informed that work is well advanced on all of these measures and the Irish Prison Service expect to introduce the new prisoner complaints system before the end of 2020.
