Violet-Anne Wynne
Ceist:970. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Justice what steps she is taking to tackle chronic overcrowding in Irish prisons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13316/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 20 March 2024
Ceisteanna (970)
Freagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will be aware, the Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the Courts. As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.
Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, the Irish Prison Service make every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and appropriate use of structured Temporary Release.
The criteria for participation in the Community Return and Community Support Schemes were reviewed last year and additional prisoners are now eligible for assessment for suitability to participate on these structured and supported schemes.
In this regard I can assure the Deputy that decisions in relation to temporary release are considered on a case by case basis and the safety of the public is paramount when those decisions are made.
A Prison Overcrowding Response Group has been established, with officials from across the Department, the Irish Prison Service, Probation Service, Courts Service, and An Garda Síochána to examine proposals to address overcrowding.
While focused on rehabilitation and reducing offending, we are continuing to invest in our prison estate, to ensure that it is modern, fit for purpose and has the capacity to accommodate those committed to prison by the courts.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has made significant capital funding available to the Irish Prison Service in order to enhance the existing prison infrastructure and to provide additional capacity.
In recent years, works have been completed to modernise the Mountjoy complex, a new prison was constructed in Cork and additional prisoner accommodation was provided in the Midlands Prison.
Furthermore, the Training Unit in Mountjoy was reopened providing an additional 96 spaces, the opening of new male accommodation in Limerick has provided an additional 90 cell spaces and the new standalone female prison in Limerick has provided an additional 22 female cell spaces. This brings additional capacity across the estate to in excess of 200 new spaces in recent years.
Plans have also been outlined for 4 capital projects at Castlerea, Cloverhill, the Midlands and Mountjoy prisons which can accommodate up to 670 prisoners and I am continuing to engage with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to progress an agreed schedule of capital builds, including the delivery of additional Prison spaces.