I wish to reassure the Deputy that the Dóchas Centre is operated in full compliance with the Bangkok Rules passed at the United Nations in 2010.
The ethos upon which the Dóchas Centre is operated is that the women prisoners should live together in a community style setting. The women are accommodated in houses rather than cell blocks and there is no categorisation of female prisoners. The regime in the Dóchas Centre is very much focused on training and rehabilitation.
However, the requirement to ensure the safety and security of all those who live and work in our prisons is universal and in that regard there were changes made in 2019 to enhance the structure of the prison day in the Dóchas. I am informed by the Irish Prison Service that this has enhanced the regime in the prison and allowed for greater access to vital rehabilitative services. As a result, the women accommodated in the Dóchas now have better access to important services such as mental health services, Psychology Service and Addiction Counsellors.
The Prison Service is acutely aware of the fact that women prisoners are a vulnerable group within the prison system and is aware that the supports for female offenders and their rehabilitative needs are very different to male offenders.
The Deputy will wish to be aware that staff working with female offenders are provided with bespoke training and in February 2020 the Prison Service introduced a new tailored programme for staff to address the special needs of women prisoners called ‘Working with Women in Custody’.
To enhance the rehabilitative opportunities for female offenders a new programme in partnership with the Probation Service, called the Outlook Programme which is a step down unit for women offenders, was opened in May 2019. The project is managed by Focus Ireland and the vision of the programme is to promote the rehabilitation and re-integration of women leaving prison and those who have accommodation needs requiring support in the community.
Finally, it may interest the Deputy to know that the construction of a new prison facility to provide accommodation for 50 female prisoners in Limerick Prison is scheduled to become operational in Q4 2021. The design of the facility is based on the principle of rehabilitation and normalisation recognising the unique requirements of female offenders.
