Clare Daly
Ceist:3. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he will take to ensure a single cell occupancy policy in relation to Irish prisons. [39371/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 19 September 2012
Ceisteanna (3)
Freagraí ó Béal (5 píosaí cainte)
There has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population in Ireland over recent years. The problem of prison overcrowding therefore remains a challenging issue which unfortunately cannot be resolved overnight. Given the current number of prisoners in custody - 4,248 on 13 September 2012 - the Irish Prison Service is not in a position to provide single cell accommodation to all prisoners. Single cell occupancy across the system would result in a bed capacity of less than 3,000 and would not be possible to achieve without releasing sizeable numbers of prisoners considered to represent a threat to public safety. While it would be ideal if we had the capacity to provide single cell accommodation for all prisoners, it will not be feasible to do so in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, we will continue to make efforts to improve prison accommodation and to promote the use of non-custodial options where appropriate.
It must also be borne in mind that prisoners are housed together for reasons other than lack of capacity. Family members, friends and co-accused prisoners often elect or are assigned a shared cell. Shared cell accommodation can be very beneficial from a management point of view particularly for those who are vulnerable and at risk of self-harm. There will always be a need for certain prisoners to be accommodated together.
I disagree with the Minister of State's take on the issue. Penal policy is resulting in more places being devised in prisons at an enormous cost to the State. Apart from the moral issues, it is not even a good value for money exercise and it does not address the issues of sentencing policy, drugs in prison and so on. At the end of the last year, 60% of prisoners shared cells, many of which were designed to house a single person. The Minister published the strategic plan on the Prison Service, which was welcome, but the lack of a commitment to a single cell policy is a serious omission. Ireland signed up to this through the European prison rules drawn up by the Council of Europe, yet the Government is embarking on prison building projects in Cork and Limerick, which will provide for shared cells. There are many educational and other reasons not to do this. However, the Minister of State seems to be saying it is now a conscious policy not to have a single cell policy and she is almost putting that forward as a virtue, with which most of those in the service would disagree. Will she clarify her position?
This is not being proposed as a virtue. All of us agree that the optimum is single cell occupancy but that cannot be achieved in the foreseeable future. New prisons will be built in Cork and Limerick as the Deputy rightly said, but because of overcrowding in the current prisons we will simply alleviate that with the new buildings.
I am sure this will be a great relief to people there because the accommodation is not good and it will improve the circumstances in both prisons. Nevertheless, unless the Government embarks on a massive prison-building programme or releases almost 1,000 people from the prisons, it will not be able to provide single-cell occupancy within the foreseeable future. I do not put this forward as a virtue but simply state the facts.
Briefly, if Members agree it should be done, this decision must be incorporated into policy in the future. In that sense, it is regrettable that facilities will be designed to incorporate more than one person. This means that while there is a policy to move away from slopping out, a person who shares a cell will be obliged to carry out his or her toilet duties in the presence of someone else, which simply is not humane. A point of particular worry at present is the number of women prisoners and the doubling up within units designed for one person. Such a pressure cooker actually acts to keep people in prison for longer because it takes away from the rehabilitation process, rather than addressing the issues.
Whereas I agree with the concept of single cell occupancy, I am not certain the Government should move towards a massive prison building programme that would provide it. There are other things it can do and the present Minister in particular has brought forward legislation that will ensure people are not automatically jailed on foot of particular offences. A two-pronged approach is required in that while one must ensure there is better accommodation for the prison population, one definitely must drive forward the reform issues with regard to sentencing and community-based projects.