Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
540. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the extent to which an adequate number of prison spaces are being made available, having regard to population demands; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34346/23]
View answerI can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service and my Department are committed to providing safe and secure custody for all people committed to prison while ensuring a safe working environment for staff. Officials in the Irish Prison Service and the Department are continuously working to identify short, medium and longer term proposals to help manage the current capacity issues in our prisons.
As the Deputy will be aware the Irish Prison Service does not have the option of refusing committals and must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts Service. The prison system is under increasing pressure with factors such as ongoing population growth, increasing Garda and Judicial resources, and more frequent Court sittings, all contributing to a rising prison population.
On 6 July 2023 there were 4,728 people in prison, compared to a bed capacity of 4,487. This has led to the need to accommodate prisoners on mattresses. On 6 July 2023, the total number of people in prison custody required to sleep on mattresses on the floor was 210.
Where the number of prisoners exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, my officials make every effort to address the issue through a combination of inter-prison transfers and carefully selecting candidates for Temporary Release.
The Government has provided significant capital funding to the Irish Prison Service to enhance the existing prison infrastructure. These projects have included, adding capacity to the Training Unit in Mountjoy Prison and the commissioning of new male and female prison accommodation in Limerick Prison providing an additional 90 male cell spaces and 22 female cell spaces. The male accommodation is now open.
The opening of the new female wing at Limerick Prison is an organisational priority. In order to ensure the safety of people who will live and work in this new wing a significant number of additional staff is required. These staff will come through a combination of direct recruitment and transfers and this process takes time. The Irish Prison Service is working to install the necessary resources to meet the target to bring the new female wing of Limerick Prison into operation later this month.
In order to alleviate the need for people to sleep on mattresses on the floor, the Irish Prison Service has procured a number of bunk beds. The bunk beds will not reduce overcrowding, but will improve the living and sleeping conditions for people in custody. It is intended to progress installation of these bunk beds over the coming months.
In addition, there are plans for 4 short-term capital projects at Castlerea Prison, Cloverhill Prison, the Midlands Prison and Mountjoy Prison. These will deliver a minimum of 620 additional spaces. The need to ensure the continued availability of modern prison facilities with adequate capacity is a priority for my Department, and I continue to engage with the Minister for Public Expenditure with a view to progressing an agreed schedule of capital builds.
Alongside efforts to increase prison capacity, my Department is progressing a range of policy options to ensure that the courts have a suitably wide range of appropriate options for dealing with people who have committed minor offences.
The Programme for Government contains a broad range of policies and proposals that represent a coherent approach to enhancing and sustaining a more just and safe society, with a specific commitment to review policy options for prison and penal reform. In respect of delivering on this commitment, the Government approved the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024 in August 2022.
This review seeks to find the balance between ensuring that people who commit serious crimes receive a punishment and a period of incarceration proportionate to that crime, while at the same time acknowledging that sometimes community-based sanctions are more appropriate in diverting offenders away from future criminal activity and that they have a role to play in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and providing protection to the public, while holding the individual accountable.
