Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 May 2024
124. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 442 of 14 May 2024, the number of prisoners eligible for these programmes for each year previously provided. [23145/24]
View answerPeople in custody who have been convicted of a sexual offence are screened in relation to their suitability for treatment based on current criteria for the Building Better Lives programme. In recent years, the number of people committed to custody annually for sexually violent offences is approximately 200.
Currently, the Probation Service screen those who have Post Release Supervision Orders and the Psychology Service screen those without Post Release Supervision. Criteria for the Building Better Lives programme includes: admission of the offence and harm caused, stability of mental health and personality, sufficient sentence length, moderate to high risk of re-offending, and capacity to engage in group programmes. If deemed suitable based on these criteria, people move on to a further, more in-depth assessment of their risk and needs and what treatments may be suitable.
In 2022, an intensive screening programme was completed by both the Psychology Service and the Probation Service and a total of 177 BBL screens were completed by both Services. This achieved a historic first where all men in custody on a sexual offence had been screened for the programme. The intention of this intensive approach was to clear the backlog and allow new committals to be screened earlier in their sentence. During this screening process, 37% of people were deemed to meet basic criteria and were moved forward for additional more intensive screening.
In relation to those screens completed in 2023, 12 or 25% of people screened met criteria and were sent forward for additional assessment. Thus far in 2024, 4 or 22% of those screened have met basic inclusion criteria.
I am advised by the IPS that the data sought for 2019, 2020 and 2021 is not readily available and would require a manual search of each prisoner’s records which would involve the commitment of a disproportionate amount of staff time. Since 2022 an improved system of collating data has been put in place.
The emergence of updated research evidence, discussion with field experts, new Council of Europe recommendations and the new National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence have led to a significant review of the current Building Better Lives programme. The Irish Prison Service anticipates that the criteria for inclusion will change to incorporate anyone in custody who is convicted of a sexual offence, including people who deny and minimise their offence(s), those with mental disorders who have been sexually violent, those with shorter sentences as well as including all risk categories.
