Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 27 May 1992

Vol. 420 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Mountjoy Prison (Dublin) Report.

Mr. Shatter

I hope the Minister will explain to the House why the Mountjoy Prison report found its way into the newspapers this morning before Deputies had seen it or before it had been placed in the Library of this House. I raised this issue with you, Sir, but, of course, it is not your responsibility.

This report could best be described as a damning indictment of our prison service. It costs £660 per week to keep someone sentenced and convicted of an offence in our prisons. It seems, from this report, that there are still huge ongoing problems within our prison service and, in particular, within Mountjoy Prison. There is no time this evening to go through the entire report but some of the points raised in it are worth repeating.

The report states that Mountjoy Prison is grossly overcrowded, that prisoners find themselves in multiple cells contrary to prison rules and that on occasions there are no beds available. It refers to the serious riots during the year which were caused primarily by boredom, frustration and overcrowding, and refers to urgent steps being necessary from the Government to forthwith transform the prison system into a dignified rehabilitative centre. It should be noted that the riots which took place last September have cost this State in the region of £2 million. The report states that there is a rising prison population and that there is need for a fully equipped and trained staff providing an imaginative rehabilitative programme. It notes that the vast majority of prisoners never work while in prison.

If prison is to serve a purpose, the purpose must be twofold. The first is deterrent and the second is rehabilitative. This report confirms that those kept in prison are more likely to receive a postgraduate degree in crime and to go on to commit more crimes than to be rehabilitated. For £660 per week per prisoner this State is getting very poor value from its prison service. Those people who are sentenced to imprisonment are released back into the community with the inevitability of committing further crimes and so adding to the crisis in crime that we now have, with a 16 per cent increase in the number of crimes committed within this State within the last two years — an enormous increase over a two-year period.

The report says that the bulk of prisoners never get detailed or proper assessment or any proper training and that those prisoners who are in prison for drug abuse do not have available to them adequate medical services. An extraordinary element in this report is the statement that owing to administrative problems between the Department of Justice and the Department of Health, the establishment of a drugs clinic which has long since been promised has not yet happened.

The report recommends that the temporary release programme with which I agree in so far as it is useful, should not be used simply to ease pressure on prison space and should only be awarded to those who have earned it. I agree entirely with that sentiment.

This report indicates that within our prison service, and within Mountjoy Prison, we are in for a long hot summer. This report and the Minister's inadequate response to the problems in Mountjoy Prison mean that we will have ongoing problems within the Prison Service. The Minister's response, as reported in today's papers, is that his Department are examining the criminal justice system and the Prison Service and that a report will be published on prison policy. We need more than a report. We need adequate custodial facilities. Rehabilitative and education programmes need to be put in place and we need an explanation why the majority of prisoners in Mountjoy Prison never do any work or get any training to give them necessary skills for use when they return to the community, that afford them the opportunity for leading a life without returning to crime. We must provide within the criminal justice system a prison service that works and that acts as a real deterrent and as a rehabilitative institution.

Mountjoy Prison fails on all these counts and it is quite clear from the report of the visiting committee that they have grave concerns about the facilities and conditions in Mountjoy and the training available there.

Minister for Justice (Mr. Flynn)

First, I would like to deal with the procedural matter that was referred to by Deputy Shatter earlier this morning. The Deputy complained, on the Order of Business this morning, that I had neglected a statutory obligation to lay the report by the visiting committee before both Houses of the Oireachtas. Under the Prisons Visiting Committees Act, 1925, the visiting committees are obliged to report to me as Minister and not to the Houses of the Oireachtas. Under section 3 (4) of the Act every report made by a visiting committee to the Minister should be made public. It was in this context that I released the 1991 report of the Mountjoy Visiting Committee yesterday.

In accordance with the general Prisons of Ireland Act, 1877, the annual report of all prisons and places of detention is laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas. This is a different report which deals comprehensively with all the 12 prisons and places of detention and, in accordance with normal practice, would include reports by the visiting committees attached to the various institutions. As a matter of courtesy, I arranged that the Library in the Dáil be furnished with copies of the Mountjoy Visiting Committee report.

Moving on to the substance of the matter at hand, I welcome the visiting committee's report. The report is a valuable contribution to the whole process of developing a new strategy for the prison service. I believe I am the first Minister who has taken a personal interest in this for quite some time. A major policy document is currently being prepared and the document will update the aims and objectives of the prison system, decide on a set of priorities and set out the strategy to achieve them. There is no doubt that the system requires a new sense of purpose and direction.

I do not intend to tinker with individual problems in a vacuum. I am preparing the groundwork for a planned and coordinated approach to getting it right on prison reform. It will not happen overnight. We are talking about developing a considered policy to improve the conditions which prisoners and, indeed, prison officers, have to contend with.

Turning to some of the specific issues raised on the visit by the visiting committee, I visited Mountjoy Prison recently and saw at first hand the difficulties under which that prison operates. In my address to the annual conference of the Prison Officers Association on 30 April 1992 I spoke of the poor physical conditions, the inadequate infrastructure and the ad hoc facilities there. It is my intention to improve the facilities throughout the Prison Service. Mountjoy is one of the oldest of the prisons and, of course, being the only committal prison for adults in the Dublin area, it is the busiest.

I would like to take this opportunity to record the work which has been undertaken to improve the physical conditions for offenders in Mountjoy over the past couple of years, and it is as well to put it on the record. A new electrical system which includes a cell call system, smoke detection and smoke control ventilation has been installed. A new unit to cater for the special needs of about 60 offenders suffering from communicable diseases, including HIV AIDS, is nearing completion and will be in operation before the end of this year.

Work on the refurbishment of the women's prison is progressing very well and will be completed later on this year. The refurbishment work provides for sanitation facilities in each cell and I regard this as a particularly significant development. While this work is in progress, the female offenders are being accommodated temporarily in the newly refurbished D Wing of St. Patrick's Institution. Other significant features will have to be tackled over the coming years. The existing dilapidated kitchen will be replaced by a modern, purpose-built kitchen. This will be tendered for very shortly. A refurbishment programme will include the provision of in-cell sanitation, and other modern facilities. I regard that as a top priority. There will be new workshops where offenders can be provided with the opportunity to acquire a skill to help their rehabilitation into the community on their release. Deputy Shatter is particularly interested in that element; so am I. There will be improved visiting facilities, improved recreation and exercise facilities for offenders and improved facilities for the staff.

The visiting committee referred to the health of prisoners and ensuring proper medical care. On the recommendation of the director of prison medical services, additional moneys are being provided this year to augment the standard of medical care. The additional provision will enable general medical and psychiatric care facilities, including clinical arrangements, to be improved. The number of psychologists for the prison system will be increased from three to six in the immediate future. Recruitment of the additional psychologists will commence shortly. The question of the need for further additional psychologists will be kept under constant review by me.

The lack of training for custodial officers has been commented on by the visiting committee. A committee comprising departmental and prison service staff has examined the range of training which is required to be undertaken and has prioritised a training scheme, having regard to both needs and the financial resources available. However, a major problem in providing training is the overtime cost of replacing staff who are on training courses. The funds available to my Department for overtime working are limited. Within the available resources every effort will be made to provide development training on the lines recommended by the committee. For instance, I am arranging with the help of the Samaritans that a two-day training course in suicide awareness be set up in July of this year. This will cover the way a prison officer would relate to a distressed prisoner, the importance of active listening, being non-judgmental and non-directive, the stigma of suicide, bereavement, depression, sexuality and young people at risk. Role plays and dynamic communications will be used to make the skills gained by staff as practicable and as applicable as possible. This type of course is being incorporated into the induction training for new recruits as and from next month.

The visiting committee expressed their concern about over-crowding in Mountjoy Prison. I am convinced that imprisonment should be used as a last resort and that alternatives to custody should be applied wherever possible. At present there are more than 3,200 offenders serving community-based sanctions under the supervision of the Probation and Welfare Service. That is about one-and-a-half times the number of persons who are actually in custody. A new system of intensive supervision was introduced last March which provides for the close monitoring and supervision of offenders in the community by the Probation and Welfare Service. The scheme, when fully operational, will accommodate up to 200 offenders.

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on these matters this evening. Obviously, in the course of my reply I have only been able to deal with a few of the items mentioned in the visiting committee's report. Every effort is being made to improve conditions in Mountjoy Prison. Many of the prisoners accommodated there will see some of those improvements. I intend to pursue a planned strategy for the achievement of stated objectives. This will be a matter of the highest priority for the Department. I have indicated a personal interest in this matter. I am interested in improving our penal and custodial system. It is perhaps the first initiative that has been taken in that area for quite some time and some good work is being done. More needs to be done and I am giving my time, effort and energy to it.