Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 279: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prison officers employed in each prison for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26291/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that the current staffing levels and configurations for each of the prisons were established in the context of the Change Agreement reached with the Prison Officers' Association in 2005. The Agreement involved substantial changes to staff deployment, which could only be achieved over time. The staffing level for each prison was determined following an analysis of all the tasks that were required to run the individual prison. At present, staffing levels and configurations are quite close to what was envisaged when the Agreement was reached with the Prison Officers Association.

The Deputy will appreciate that in a large organisation such as the Irish Prison Service, surpluses and shortfalls in staffing have to be managed on an ongoing basis and there will be short periods where staff levels are either under or above target levels. The staffing levels for each prison at the end of each year from 2006 to 2009, and current levels in June 2010, are as follows:

In addition to the staff assigned to each of the prisons there are also staff assigned to a range of important support services. These include: 145 staff assigned to the Prison Service Escort Corp which are responsible for transporting prisoners between prisons and to courts, hospitals and other destinations, 157 staff assigned to the Operational Support Group which is responsible for security screening and security searching within prisons, 28 staff assigned to the Building Services Division which is responsible for building and maintenance and a small number (45) of other prison grade staff that are assigned to task related to training, procurement and logistics. I have been informed by the Irish Prison Service that, on 12 June 2010, the number of staff serving in the Prison Service as a whole was 3333.5. The year end figures for 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006 are 3,417, 3506.5, 3347.5 and 3305 respectively.

Increases in staffing levels, where they occurred, have been related in the main to the opening of new prisoner accommodation at these prisons. This includes the opening of new prisoner accommodation at Loughan House and Shelton Abbey in 2008, Castlerea and Portlaoise in 2009, and Mountjoy in 2010. Other factors that have led to increases in staff numbers on a temporary basis include the practice of initially assigning new recruits to large Dublin prisons for a period before they, or more senior colleagues, are assigned elsewhere in the system. This has led to temporary increases in large Dublin prisons such as Mountjoy and Cloverhill at certain times.

The staffing levels in each prison are mediated by a number of factors; these include retirements, recruitment and transfers. During 2009, in particular, there was a significantly higher level of retirements than would be expected in a normal year, with 192 staff retiring from the Prison Service in that year. Retirements have continued at a higher than normal rate through to 2010, although the rate is slower than in 2009. These retirements have been offset by the recruitment of 122 Recruit Prison Officers during 2009 which built on significant recruitment that took place in 2008, and the recruitment of 61 Recruit Prison Officers in 2010 to date. For that reason the Prison Service has been able to absorb the high levels of retirements while maintaining acceptable staffing levels.

Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 280: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prison officers injured in the line of work in each of the past five years; the prison in which they were working; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26292/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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In the time available it has not been possible to compile the details requested by the Deputy. I will be in contact with the Deputy when the information is to hand.

Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prison officers on sick leave in each prison here for each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26293/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that there has been a welcome and significant decrease in the level of sickness absence in the Irish Prison Service since 2005. The number of sick leave days taken in the Prison Service has dropped from 81,503 in 2005 to 58,515 in 2009, a decrease of 22,988 days. It is worth noting that the sick days per capita rate decreased from 26.49 in 2005 to 17.25 in 2009.

Records show the number of Prison Officers who took sick leave in each prison for the past 5 years between 2005 and 2009 and up to 18th June 2010 are as follows:

By way of clarification I should say that the Prison Service Escort Corps (PSEC) was operational from February 2006 and the Operational Support Group (OSG) was operational from mid 2008. I have also been advised that OSG Sick leave records for 2008 were recorded in parent prisons and are reflected in the above table. The Director General of the Irish Prison Service will continue to proactively monitor sick leave across the prison estate.