asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to a newspaper report that boys in St. Patrick's Institution, Dublin, receive only one hour's education a day; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - St. Patrick's Institution (Dublin).
381.
Yes. The impression sought to be conveyed by the so-called Prisoners Rights Organisation is, in this instance also, a false one. It is true that less than half of the offenders in St. Patrick's attend class but that is largely due to the fact that a large number do not want to and, naturally, nobody is forced to attend classes if he does not want to. Save for those serving very short sentences—less than three months. of whom there are generally about 15— education is available in St. Patrick's for any offender who wishes to avail himself of it. It would be extremely difficult to achieve any worth-while progress in educating those serving very short sentences but remedial instruction is provided in appropriate cases.
At present out of a total population of approximately 190, between 70 and 80 attend classes for an average of three hours per day, not one hour as alleged in the report referred to, on five days a week. In the institution there is a fully-equipped education unit complete with facilities for the teaching of metal-work, arts and crafts, and remedial and general studies. Nine teachers work in the unit and the courses are closely related in content to education programmes offered in vocational schools. In addition about 40 boys, some of whom also attend the formal educational classes, receive training in carpentry, motor repairs, tailoring, plumbing, painting, plastering or toy manufacturing.
While offenders serving sentences of between three and six months attend educational classes, they present special problems for the teachers in trying to fit them into the educational programmes because of the shortness of their sojourn in the institution. An extension to the education unit is in course of construction and when this is ready it is hoped to introduce specially designed programmes for these offenders. At present about 45 offenders are serving such sentences.