Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2015
348. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners from 18 to 20 years of age who participated in the integrated sentence management scheme from 24 November 2013 to 23 November 2015, by prison, by year, in tabular form. [45301/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra349. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners from 21 to 25 years of age who participated in the integrated sentence management scheme from 24 November 2013 to 23 November 2015, by prison, by year, in tabular form. [45302/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 348 and 349 together.
I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service does not record data in relation to participation in Integrated Sentence Management in the format requested. However, I can inform the Deputy that as of 14 December 2015, 3,045 prisoners were engaged in Integrated Sentence Management. The number of prisoners for whom an Integrated Sentence Management case has been created is broken down by prison in the following table.
|
Prison |
Number of ISM Cases Created |
|
Arbour Hill |
143 |
|
Castlerea |
171 |
|
Cloverhill |
143 |
|
Cork |
209 |
|
Dóchas |
99 |
|
Limerick |
181 |
|
Loughan |
142 |
|
Midlands |
585 |
|
Mountjoy Male |
512 |
|
Portlaoise |
203 |
|
Shelton Abbey |
116 |
|
Training Unit |
118 |
|
Wheatfield |
423 |
|
Total |
3,045 |
A total of 24 dedicated Integrated Sentence Management Coordinators are operational in all prisons and open centres since March 2015. The allocation of dedicated staff in each establishment greatly enhances the effectiveness of the sentence management system and facilitates the growing numbers of prisoners participating in the process.
Newly committed prisoners with a sentence of greater than one year are eligible to take part in Integrated Sentence Management. This involves a specific orientation in the delivery of services to prisoners and an emphasis on prisoners taking greater personal responsibility for their own development through active engagement with both specialist and non-specialist services in the prisons.
Following committal the Integrated Sentence Management Coordinator conducts a First Contact Assessment. This First Contact Assessment identifies the needs of the prisoner in several areas such as accommodation, education and offending behaviour. Referrals are made on foot of this assessment to services within the prison such as Education, Work/Training and outside agencies providing an in-reach service. The various actions recommended by these services are compiled into a Personal Integration Plan. This is a plan of actions for the prisoner to complete during his/her time in prison. The Personal Integration Plan will be reviewed regularly depending on the length of the sentence. Approximately 9 months prior to the release of the prisoner, a Community Integration Plan will be developed. This sets out a plan for the prisoner to prepare for his/her release.
The end result is a prisoner centred, multi-disciplinary approach to working with prisoners with provision for initial assessment, goal setting and periodic review to measure progress. Important issues such as accommodation, income support, training or employment are addressed to help the prisoner resettle into the community on release and reduce the risk of re-offending.
Integrated Sentence Management Coordinators are also active participants in sentence planning for certain categories of prisoners serving less than one year, for example, female prisoners, prisoners who have declared their risk of homelessness on release, or prisoners participating in the Community Support Scheme. The Integrated Sentence Management process has played a key role in the success of the Community Return Scheme.
I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that It is intended to review the overall Integrated Sentence Management Policy in the coming year to include a review of the Integrated Sentence Management database.
