Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
809. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Justice if the Irish Prison Service Bill 2023 provides for any change to the Civil Service status of current Irish Prison Service staff; and when engagement with representatives of these staff will begin. [35856/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) is currently a non-statutory executive office of the Department of Justice. It is the second largest agency in the criminal justice system, with over 3,500 staff and an annual budget of more than €420 million.
The IPS is a crucial part of the justice system, with a very substantial duty of care to prisoners and staff alike and plays a significant role in making communities safer through a rehabilitation-oriented approach to prisoner management.
Establishing the IPS as a statutory body will provide this key agency with defined functions and operational certainty, and will facilitate enhanced performance and accountability in the prison system by instituting a modern, best practice oversight and support framework. This will include the establishment of a non-executive board to provide oversight and support to the Director General in matters of internal governance and strategy.
In response to the Deputy, I understand that IPS management have provided the relevant union representatives with an outline of the main proposals, including those relating to staff. The General Scheme of the Irish Prison Service Bill provides that the staff of the IPS will retain their civil service status, with the Director General being designated as the Appropriate Authority for staff within the meaning of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 and the Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 2005.
Following approval by Government, the General Scheme of the Bill will be published and referred to the Oireachtas Committee on Justice for pre-legislative scrutiny and to the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for drafting. At that point there will be an opportunity for engagement with staff representatives on any queries or concerns they may have.
