Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
447. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Justice the procedure for the nomination of prison officers who may have distinguished themselves through their actions to be considered for a merit award; and the nominating person or body for a merit award; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38355/22]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that merit awards in the Irish Prison Service recognise acts of bravery, outstanding heroism which are considered to be beyond the normal expectation of staff, taking their experience and training into account. Under the Merit Award Scheme, a member of staff can be nominated for a Brian Stack Medal for Bravery, a Distinguished Services Medal or a Commendation depending on the actions taken.
The Brain Stack Medal is awarded by the Minister for Justice, the Distinguished Services Medal is awarded by the Director General and the Commendation is awarded by the Governor of the prison.
The current procedure for the nomination of prison officers for merit awards is outlined in the Prison Service Staff Recognition Policy that has been in place since 1 June 2013. When the policy was introduced, nominations for historical cases were considered, however the current situation is that applications must be made no more than one year after the incident.
The procedure begins with the completion of a nomination form which outlines the basic details of the incident and the particular actions of the nominated staff member that warrant consideration under the award scheme. These forms are available to all staff on the Prison Service intranet portal PRISM, from the Governor of the prison or from Corporate Services Directorate.
All nominations should be sent to the Local Staff Recognition Committee for the institution for consideration. This committee comprises of management representatives, staff association members and other staff of that prison or business support centre. The role of these committees is to investigate and gather information in relation to the incident and verify the facts of the matter before making a recommendation to the Prison Service National Staff Recognition Committee (National Committee).
As part of the process the Governor of the prison or the business support centre also confirms that they know of no reason why the nomination form cannot go forward for consideration to the National Committee.
The National Committee consider the nominations and supporting information. This Committee makes the decision in relation to nominations for Commendation awards itself and makes recommendations to the Director General in relation to the nomination for award of a Brian Stack Medal or a Distinguished Services Medal.
The Director General makes a decision based on the recommendation of the National Committee and on any other information available. All decisions are communicated to the local staff recognition committee.
In the event that a review is sought, the Irish Prison Service Staff Recognition Policy provides for a formal review by the Director of Human Resources.
