Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 March 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Penal Reform: Discussion (Resumed)

9:00 am

Mr. Michael Donnellan:

We have set out in our strategy that we want to develop a therapeutic community. That will not happen in the short term due to our current staffing issues. We hope that we could develop a 40-bed therapeutic community in the beginning of 2018, in the area that was occupied by children in St. Patrick's Institution, which has been significantly developed. We are working with a number of providers and hope that we could develop a therapeutic community model in prisons. It has never been done in Ireland. We have visited a number across Europe and we think that there is a real benefit but we have to wait to get the staff.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.