Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
673. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 287 of 10 July 2018, the number of prisoners on each night in April, May and June 2018 sleeping on the floor in Cloverhill Prison. [32716/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra737. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 287 of 10 July 2018, the way in which prisoners sleeping on the floor of Cloverhill Prison during April, May and June 2018 are categorised as homeless. [32830/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra738. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 287 of 10 July 2018, the steps he is taking to address the overcrowding at Cloverhill Prison; and the overall steps he is taking to divert low level criminals away from the penal system towards more appropriate intervention services. [32831/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra748. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of nights slept on the floor in Cloverhill Prison by each prisoner who did so in April, May and June 2018, by month and over the entire period. [32921/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 673, 737, 738 and 748 together.
I wish to inform the Deputy that the more detailed information in relation to the number of prisoners on each night in April, May and June 2018, sleeping on the floor in Cloverhill Prison is available at the link.
However, I am advised by the Irish Prison Service, in relation to Question 32921/18 the number of nights slept on the floor in Cloverhill prison by each prisoner, that such details are not recorded by the Governor in respect of the identity of individual prisoners required to sleep on mattresses, or the dates on which this commences and ends in view of the fluidity of the situation on any given night or further period of time.
In relation to question 32830/18 the prison service does not categorise prisons sleeping on mattresses as homeless.
In response to Parliamentary Question 32831/18, the Deputy will appreciate that prison Governors are required by law to accept all prisoners into their custody who have been committed to prison by the Courts. As Cloverhill Prison is the primary remand prison for the Leinster area, it has recently been affected more significantly in terms of the increased number of committals in the past year.
However, I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that as of 17 July 2018 there were 396 prisoners in custody in Cloverhill Prison with a bed capacity of 431, equating to an occupancy rate of 92% with no prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor. The reduction in such numbers in recent weeks is due in no small part to the completion of the refurbishment works in Cloverhill Prison which I had referred to in previous Questions on the matter.
The Strategic Review of Penal Policy produced by the Penal Policy Review Group was published in September 2014. It advocates an approach to crime and the penal system which emphasises rehabilitation and advocates for an improved penal system, the reduction of reliance on imprisonment as a sanction, and an increased focus on alternatives.
Dr Mary Rogan is the independent chairperson of an Implementation and Oversight Group established in early 2015, to oversee implementation of the Penal Policy Review Group’s recommendations. This group comprises officials from the Department of Justice and Equality, the Irish Prison Service, Probation Service and An Garda Síochána and reports to me on a six monthly basis, on the implementation status of the recommendations of the Penal Policy Review Group.
This group has presented five reports to me to date, all of which were published on my Department’s website. The implementation of the PPRG recommendations constitutes the broad reform programme of penal policy currently being undertaken.
In terms of prison numbers, Ireland has a relatively low rate of imprisonment by international standards. According to the most recent published statistics, Ireland’s imprisonment rate is 78.1 per 100,000 of population. The equivalent European average is 129.9 and the median figure is 117.1. The Penal Policy Review Group recommended the adoption of a strategy to reduce prisoner numbers to a safe level subject to the need to ensure proper protection of the public. In light of this, my officials are drafting a Strategy, which is expected to be finalised this year.
Progress has been made in terms of some of the recommendations of the Penal Policy Review Group - for example, the pursuit of alternatives to custody, interagency working between the Irish Prison Service and the Probation Service and the use of structured temporary release programmes such as the Community Return Programme and the Community Support Scheme.
Alternatives to custody continue to be pursued and legislation has already been passed. This includes the Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Act 2011 which requires the sentencing judge to consider the imposition of community service where a custodial sentence of 12 months or less is being considered. The Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 provides that the Court imposing a fine shall take into account a person's financial circumstances. It further provides, inter alia, that where a person fails to pay a fine by the due date, the Court may make an attachment order to earnings as a means of recovering the unpaid fine. As a result of this legislation, we are seeing a reduction in the number of committals. The information is available at the following link:
