Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 28 Jan 1999

Vol. 499 No. 2

Written Answers. - Educational Services for Prisoners.

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. Martin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 167 and 168 together.

As a general rule, the question of whether a participant on an educational programme has a previous prison record would not arise in relation to participation on vocational or third level courses outside the prison system. Therefore, there is no data available on the number of prisoners, offenders, ex-prisoners and ex-offenders participating on such courses. However, there are a number of specific instances where education and training for ex-offenders is expressly facilitated by the vocational education committees, for example, in situations where a prisoner has been released but needs to complete an educational programme which started within the prison education service, on programmes specifically for ex-prisoners such as pathways and the bridge programme, or as one of the target groups within early school leaver programmes generally. In such instances, it is the practice of the VEC to liaise with staff in the prison education service and to interview the client in order to satisfy themselves as to suitability for the programme. All participants on education programmes are subject to the code of conduct pertaining in the institutions which they attend. While information is available at centre level on the courses followed and awards issued within the prison education service, and on specific programmes for ex-prisoners, this data is not aggregated nationally.