Skip to main content
Normal View

Prison Service

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 December 2021

Wednesday, 15 December 2021

Questions (157)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

157. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Justice the ways in which the Bangkok Rules are being upheld in Ireland’s women’s prisons in relation to the agreement that prison for women should, as closely as possible, resemble their homes as there is currently no communal dining, no privacy due to overcrowding and very limited access to their children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62047/21]

View answer

Written answers

I wish to reassure the Deputy that the accommodation of women prisoners in the Irish Prison Service is operated in full compliance with the Bangkok Rules passed at the United Nations in 2010.

The ethos upon which Irish Prisons are operated is that women prisoners should live together in a community style setting with no categorisation of female prisoners and a regime very much focused on training and rehabilitation.

My officials in the Irish Prison Service report that communal dining is available to women prisoners in certain areas in Limerick Prison but that prisoners are permitted to dine in by themselves or with their cell mate. In the Dóchas Centre the women are accommodated in houses rather than cell blocks and most prefer not to dine communally.

Overcrowding is not currently an issue for women in either the Dochas Centre or Limerick Prison. The following table provides both the number in custody and the bed capacity for both the Dochas Centre and Limerick Female Prison as at 14 December 2021.

Prison

Number in Custody

Bed Capacity

Dochas Centre

108

146

Limerick Female

24

28

Privacy is afforded to all prisoners for various activities, where appropriate, including phone calls and contact with their children. All women prisoners have access to video calls, care workers, solicitors and key workers.

The Prison Service is acutely aware of the importance of assisting prisoners to maintain close contact with their children while in custody. The Deputy will be aware that in order to protect the prison population from the risk of Covid-19, a number of infection control measures were introduced throughout 2020 and 2021. Regrettably, this included the suspension of physical visits to prisoners for extended periods of time. The Prison Service introduced a new video visit system to ensure that prisoners could continue to have visual contact with their families throughout this time.

Limerick Prison has a Tusla approved and award winning visitors area and the Prison Service work closely with care workers, the courts and Tusla to provide access visits where appropriate.

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 advanced and is scheduled to become operational in the third quarter of 2022. The design of the facility is based on the principle of rehabilitation and normalisation recognising the unique requirements of female offenders.

Top
Share