Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for rasing this very important issue. The issue of overcrowding in prisons is not unique to Ireland. It is an international problem and this was acknowledged by the Inspector of Prisons in his annual report for 2008.

No level of inter-prisoner violence is acceptable. To that end, every effort is made by the Irish Prison Service to limit the scope of acts of violence. Stringent security measures have been introduced which have resulted in the confiscation of contraband material such as mobile phones. More than 2,000 mobile phones were seized in 2008 and figures to the end of August 2009 show that close to 1,700 were confiscated. However, it must be acknowledged that it is not possible to completely eliminate the possibility of such violence in a prison system which is holding a high proportion of violent offenders without introducing a regime that would be so restrictive as to be unacceptable.

Prison statistics show there has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population over recent years. Indeed, this situation is particularly apparent over the past 12 months where we have seen the total number in custody increase by 306. This represents an 8.5% rise in the numbers in custody. Looking at the figures for yesterday, 20 October 2009, there were 3,998 prisoners in custody as compared to a bed capacity of 3,942. This is equivalent to an occupancy level of 101%.

The Government has provided the necessary resources to improve and expand the prison estate in the past decade or so. Putting figures to prison spaces provided by successive Ministers since 1997, we have provided in excess of 1,400 additional spaces including a new accommodation block for 100 prisoners which the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, officially opened on 15 September.

As set out in our renewed programme for Government we will continue to progress our new prisons building programme including Thornton Hall. Current projects will provide the potential for an extra 450 prison spaces during 2009 by the following means - a new block in Portlaoise Prisons will have the potential to accommodate approximately 200 prisoners; a new block in Wheatfield prison will have the potential to accommodate 200 prisoners; and the opening of the separation unit in Mountjoy Prisons will have the potential to accommodate 50 prisoners.

Notwithstanding this significant level of investment, it is accepted that in some of our prisons we are operating in excess of bed capacity at this point in time. I want to again reiterate the Government's commitment to replacing the outdated and outmoded Mountjoy Prison complex with a modern, purpose built, regime-focused new prison campus at Thornton Hall.

There is no disputing the fact that there are many limitations to the existing Mountjoy male prison. The Director General of the Irish Prison Service has instructed the governor of Mountjoy to address all local management issues raised by the Inspector of Prisons in his report on Mountjoy.

In addition, to further reduce the volume of prisoners committed to Mountjoy, those sentenced prisoners committed by the District Courts sitting in Dún Laoghaire, Swords, Tallaght, Cloverhill and Blanchardstown will be committed to Wheatfield Prison. The Minister will make the necessary order when the additional capacity becomes available in Wheatfield Prison later this year.

The Government and senior Irish Prison Service management are committed to taking all proportionate steps to limit, as far as possible, violence in the prison setting. Stringent security measures will continue to be enforced and additional new prison accommodation will be brought into use in the short to medium term until the Thornton Hall campus allows for the closure of the full Mountjoy complex. Other non-custodial options such as the greater use of community service orders and the potential to use restorative justice, to name but two options, will be evaluated as will making use of electronic monitoring as a management tool for the management of offenders.

The Minister, his Department, the Director General of the Irish Prison Service and his senior management team are all determined to continue to strive to provide good quality prison accommodation and safe and secure custody for all.

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