I propose to take Questions Nos. 1288, 1289, 1314 and 1315 together.
The Office of the Inspector of Prisons was established under the Prisons Act 2007 and is independent in how it carries out its functions. The Inspector's key role is to carry out regular inspections of prisons.
As explained in my recent answer to a Parliamentary question on 5 April, there are currently three reports submitted to me by the Inspector of Prisons which relate to Mountjoy Women’s Prison (Dóchas Centre) and which have not yet been published.
The Inspector of Prisons' three day monitoring report of the Dóchas Centre was received in my office in August 2020. The Inspector was also asked to carry out an investigation into matters arising in the Dóchas Centre, under section 31(2) of the Prisons Act. As the Deputy will be aware from previous responses, it was always my intention to consider both of these reports together.
In relation to the section 31(2) investigation report, this was submitted to me by the Inspector on 15 February 2022 and it is currently being examined by my officials. Based on legal advice received by my Department, it is not proposed to publish this report at this time, and in light of this, further comment by me on its findings would not be appropriate .
As previously indicated, the final set of the Covid thematic reports from the Inspector of Prisons, including the report related to Mountjoy Women’s (Dóchas Centre), have been submitted to my Department and will be published shortly.