Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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576. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the education facilities available in each prison here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8130/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Broad programmes of education are provided in each prison, which generally follow an adult education approach. The aim of the Education Service is to deliver a high quality, broad, flexible programme of education that helps prisoners cope with their sentence, achieve personal development, prepare for life after release and establish an appetite and capacity for life-long learning.

Educational services are available at all institutions and are provided in partnership with the ETBs and a range of other educational agencies. The Department of Education and Skills provides an allocation of whole-time teacher equivalents to the prisons through the ETBs (220 in the academic year 2012/13). The Service seeks to deliver relevant programmes that cater for holistic needs, ensure broad access and high participation, and prioritise those with basic education needs. It promotes the principles of adult and community education and supports a multi-disciplinary approach within the prison system.

Programmes are adapted to take account of the diversity of the prisoner population and the complex nature of prison life, including segregation requirements and high levels of prisoner turnover. Educational courses and curricula which are based on individuals participating in one or more subject areas for an academic year and then sitting examinations are only appropriate for a small number of prisoners.

The Junior and Leaving Certificate courses are available but increasing numbers of prisoners require a more flexible curriculum which has multiple entry and exit points that take account of prior educational attainment. FETAC accreditation is therefore widely used with assessment by portfolio compilation. All prison Education Centres meet the quality assurance standards demanded by FETAC.

Organisations who provide in-reach education roles include Open University, the Samaritans, the Red Cross, Grow, Toe by Toe, Writers and Artists in prison. Other courses run through the education centres include pre-release programmes, parenting, hairdressing, Alternatives to Violence. The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of the new Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. There is a clear commitment in the Strategy to enhance sentence planning including Integrated Sentence Management and the delivery of prison based rehabilitative programmes such as education, work training and resettlement programmes.