Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I am glad to have the opportunity to address the Seanad on this important topic. How we deal with offending behaviour in all its guises and protect the public is a test of us as a society. Protecting victims, encouraging change in offenders and ultimately increasing public safety is a key role for me as Minister. At a time of increased pressure on resources and staffing we must strive to look at ways of increasing efficiency and ensuring that as far as possible we continue to provide offenders with opportunities within the prison system to look at their individual road to offending, to help them change through meaningful offence focused work and to prepare them for release back to the community.

We are all familiar with the issue of overcrowding in our prisons and the effect that has on the prison system, for prisoners themselves and for prisons management and staff. There is no easy solution as to how we manage our increasing prisoner population.

For my part as Minister I am determined, within the budgetary constraints upon us all, that we will take all reasonable steps to deal with these issues. As I have said before, my first concern as Minister for Justice and Law Reform is public safety. In that regard, the fact that the number of serious criminals behind bars serving two years imprisonment or more increased by over 600 between 2007 and 2009 is a cause of commendation for An Garda Síochána, whose vigilance and dedication to duty has resulted in the arrest and successful prosecution of these offenders. This trend has continued in 2010. Indeed, I am heartened by the recent crime statistics published last week by the Central Statistics Office which show a continuation of the positive trends in the second quarter and reflect this Government's initiatives for tackling crime and the work of An Garda Síochána. As I said then, the Commissioner and I are determined that this work will continue.

I have acknowledged on many occasions that our prisoner numbers have increased quite significantly in more recent years. Indeed, this situation is particularly apparent over the past 12 months during which time the total number in custody has increased by 437. This represents an 11% increase in the numbers in custody. This increase can be traced back to a number of factors including increased Garda activity due to the large increase in Garda numbers in the last four or five years, increased courts sittings and an element of longer custodial sentences. To put it another way, it can be traced to the efforts of the Government to give gardaí and the courts the tools to do their job: strong legislative measures on the one hand and more resources on the other.

It is, of course, accepted that the Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the courts. They cannot put up a No Vacancies sign. There is no option of refusing committals. As of 2 November 2010, there were 4,416 beds available in the prison system. On the same date there were 4,408 prisoners in custody. This represents an occupancy total of 100%. Despite the significant increase in prison spaces we are operating at our bed capacity at this time. Let me put this in context. In 2005, the average number in custody was 3,151, but by 2009 this had increased to 3,881.

All sides of the House will accept that this has put a lot of strain on the prison system. That is why I am determined to push ahead with a twin-track approach by continuing to add high quality prison spaces to the prison estate and to look at innovative ways to expand the use of non-custodial options. More than 80% of the sentenced prisoner population in custody are serving sentences of 12 months or more. In Mountjoy Prison alone, only 5% of prisoners, to my recollection, are serving sentences of less than 12 months. It would, therefore, be grossly misleading to suggest prison overcrowding is caused by the imprisonment of minor offenders or that the problems can be solved overnight by the greater use of alternatives to custody. We must be realistic and acknowledge that the imprisonment option, based on the seriousness of the offence, must always be seen as a key plank of our overall criminal justice policy.

Let me turn to the issue of prison overcrowding. To begin with, the issue is not unique to this jurisdiction, rather it is an international issue that has been widely acknowledged, including by the Inspector of Prisons. As Members will know, Ireland traditionally has had a low rate of imprisonment. The Council of Europe annual penal statistics measure imprisonment rates by prison population per 100,000 inhabitants and the European average is approximately 109 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2008, the latest year for which full statistics are available, Ireland had a rate of 84.8, well below the average figure. The United Kingdom, for example, had a rate of 152.8, well above the average figure. Based on these data, we are below most western European countries other than the Scandinavian countries. The latest Council of Europe penal statistics show that Belgium - 125%, France - 131%, Italy - 130%, and Spain - 141% - all have more severe levels of overcrowding than Ireland. The imprisonment rate in the USA is around 700 per 100,000 inhabitants. However, it is also true to state that as our prison numbers increase, so too will our position on the table change, a point of which I am very conscious.

As I have said before, there is no doubting the fact that the extensive investment in the criminal justice system, with extra gardaí, the number of whom has risen from 12,000 four or five years ago to an all-time high of 14,600 today, has had a huge effect on the increase in the numbers going to prison. There is also the targeting of criminal gangs, the appointment of additional judges and the creation of more court venues. All of these developments have led to a significant growth in the numbers of offenders coming into the prison system.

I return to the earlier statistic which is worth keeping in our minds, namely, that approximately 80% of the prison population are serving sentences of 12 months or more. We may ask what this stark statistic tells us. It clearly shows that the vast bulk of the prison population is made up of offenders who have been convicted of more serious offences. The courts which are independent in their functions deal with each case on the facts and the sentence imposed in any case, following a finding of guilt, is entirely a matter for the Judiciary. For my part, releasing serious offenders onto the streets is not an option. Public protection and safety must be paramount. Some say there are many in prison who should not be there. The statistic of 80% of the prison population serving sentences of 12 months or more clearly indicates the vast majority of those in prison are serious offenders. I repeat public protection and safety must be paramount.

The track record on capital investment shows there was a lack of investment in the prison estate for many years. I am glad we have put much needed funds into improving our prisons. The Government has committed significant resources to an extensive programme of investment in prisons infrastructure which has involved both the modernisation of the existing estate and the provision of extra prison spaces. I can only speak for the time I have been in government as a Minister. Since 1997, when I first became a Minister, close to 1,920 new prison spaces have come on stream in the prison system, which is in stark contrast with the fact that no prison spaces were provided by the preceding Government. That indicates its priorities at the time. While the two main parties opposite will criticise us for the overcrowding in prisons today, the record speaks for itself. The Governments of which I have been a member have invested heavily in the provision of new prison spaces. While we have been criticised for closing some prisons, they were closed for good reasons because they were not fit for purpose; they were Dickensian. We have provided 1,920 new prison spaces since 1997, whereas, I repeat, the Government in office prior to 1997 did not build even one prison cell.

The new prisons we have built include the Midlands and Cloverhill prisons and the Dóchas Centre. We have also provided new accommodation in Limerick, Portlaoise and Castlerea prisons and at the open centres in Shelton Abbey and Loughan House. Only three weeks ago I had the pleasure of opening a new cell block in Wheatfield Prison to provide an additional 176 new cells, with the potential to accommodate in excess of 200 prisoners. Anyone who visits that prison, including a member of a prison visiting committee or a Member of the Oireachtas, will be proud of the investment made in it by the taxpayer. It is state-of-the-art and, unlike the prisons in place during the years, has not been amended and changed. It is a credit to all those involved. The new accommodation block will allow the prison to accommodate 650 prisoners. By any stretch of the imagination, particularly in these difficult economic times, this is a significant investment to improve and modernise our prisons. It is also an indication, if one was needed, of the Government's determination to meet the challenges faced. When I was in Italy sometime back, I had the opportunity to visit a similar prison and it gave me great pride to see that our prisons compared favourably, particularly in regard to the training, educational and medical facilities available to prisoners, even in some of the more normally mentioned prisons such as Mountjoy Prison. We have tremendous educational and occupational training facilities available for prisoners which compare favourable with anything I have seen in prisons I have visited abroad since.

I recognise that we must continue to invest in our prisons. That is why work is scheduled to commence later this year on a new accommodation block in the Portlaoise-Midlands Prison complex which will have the potential to provide 300 prison spaces in the medium term. Work is also due to commence on converting an administrative building on the Dóchas site into a new accommodation block which will provide 70 spaces in the short term. In addition, 14 refurbished cells in the female wing of Limerick Prison are complete and due to be occupied later this month. The Government remains committed to the programme of investment. To this end, I can confirm that I have recently approved the creation of 150 additional spaces at Castlerea Prison and Shelton Abbey, with tenders to be issued shortly for both projects. The accommodation at Shelton Abbey will increase by 50 spaces, while in Castlerea Prison we will be providing an additional 100 spaces in a setting which will provide regime incentives for prisoners while remaining within the secure perimeter of the prison. Again, I have asked my officials to proceed with the provision of a number of these additional spaces in Castlerea Prison, Shelton Abbey and the Portlaoise-Midlands Prison complex, despite the fact that the capital budget is under pressure in the current economic environment.

This is a clear illustration of the priority the Government accords to providing extra prison spaces, not just in the longer term, as in the case of Thornton Hall, but also in the short and medium terms. The short-term provisions include extra places in Castlerea Prison, Shelton Abbey, the Dóchas Centre, and the medium-term provisions include extra places at the Midlands Prison.

I am on record several times as having outlined the Government's commitment to developing a new prison campus at Thornton Hall, County Dublin. Thornton Hall, which will replace the outmoded and Dickensian Mountjoy complex, will be a campus development with approximately 1,400 cells on a 130-acre site. It will be designed to meet the highest international standards with operational flexibility to accommodate up to 2,200 prisoners in a range of security settings. Work is already under way on the construction of a dedicated access route. I understand the work is nearing completion. The Irish Prison Service hopes to award the contract for the installation of the off-site services to serve the prison development in the coming weeks. The procurement process for the design and construction of the perimeter wall is also in progress and construction is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2011. The next phase of the work will see the procurement of the first prison accommodation blocks and related support facilities commencing in the new year. This phase will provide an initial 400 cells capable of accommodating up to 700 prisoners.

The development of a new prison facility at Kilworth, County Cork, to serve the Munster region is a key element of the prisons modernisation programme. It is anticipated that the capacity of the new prison will be in the region of 450 and will also include accommodation for male and female prisoners.

It is important that we again illustrate that the priority of this Government and its predecessors since 1997 has been a clear indication of movement in respect of prison spaces in the short, medium and longer terms. Despite the constrained economic circumstances, we are prioritising expenditure on prison places. I contrast this approach with the priorities of the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government between 1994 and 1997. It decided it would not build any new prison accommodation at all and that it had other priorities. I will not accept any criticism from the other side of the House. All we need do is look at the record-----