Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will commence by thanking Deputies Niall Collins and Ó Ríordáin for raising this important matter and for the opportunity to speak on the issues arising from the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention's report on St. Patrick's Institution, which I published yesterday.

I would like to begin by thanking the inspector, Judge Michael Reilly, for his report. He has a tremendous record of providing independent oversight of our prison system and brings a forensic eye, persistence and dedication to the process, for which the Government and I are very grateful. With regard to St. Patrick's Institution, as he remarks in his report, he made a number of unannounced visits on a variety of occasions to facilitate his getting the best insight possible into the running of the institution. His reports, however critical they may be, make a real difference and I can assure the House no stone will be left unturned in addressing the issues raised in this particular report.

I also want to say that I greatly valued the report prepared by the Ombudsman for Children, Ms Logan, last year following her discussions with young people detained in St. Patrick's Institution. Her work is much appreciated and she can be assured of my full support, as evidenced by the decision to extend her remit to St. Patrick's Institution.

As I said yesterday, neither I nor the Government will tolerate the type of abuse outlined by the inspector in his report. It is unacceptable in any civilised society. This must change and it will change. Let there be no doubt about that.

The report raises serious issues and major concerns, including weak management, the behaviour of some prison staff, the culture in the prison, the inattention to human rights norms, prisoners on protection and the prevalence of drugs. The inspector concluded that there was a culture in St. Patrick's Institution that resulted in the human rights of some prisoners - children and young adults - being either ignored or violated. However, from the outset I would assure the Deputies that concrete measures have been taken to address the recommendations made by the inspector, with over 80% of the recommendations being implemented to date.

This report is shocking, and I am grateful to the inspector for bringing these matters to light. For many years I personally had concerns about St. Patrick's Institution and believed it was an inappropriate facility for children. I was instrumental in ensuring the Government was committed to change in the programme for Government, which included a specific commitment in that regard: "We will end the practice of sending children to St. Patrick's Institution."

Simply put, the Government will not tolerate this type of abuse. It is completely unacceptable. I visited St. Patrick's Institution on 22 March 2011, within two weeks of my appointment. Indeed, it was a private visit with no media in attendance. Unfortunately, on a ministerial visit the difficulties observed and detailed by Judge Reilly were not readily apparent. The value of his unannounced visits and inspections cannot be overestimated. I met the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention in early May last, as he had asked to discuss the situation in St. Patrick's Institution with me, and there has been regular contact with him since then. It is also important not to lose sight of the fact that the inspector acknowledges in his report that the majority of staff in St. Patrick's Institution carry out their duties in a professional manner and the problem lies with a very small minority of staff.

Having had this engagement with the inspector, both the director general of the Irish Prison Service and I were in a position to ensure action was taken immediately. An action plan addressing all the inspector's recommendations was put into place without delay. This included the appointment of a new senior management team, which has been tasked with providing clear and decisive leadership to the staff in order that the problems outlined by the inspector are dealt with quickly and effectively. This team, led by the new governor, is liaising closely with the director general of the Irish Prison Service and the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention to ensure each and every one of the inspector's recommendations is implemented.

Indeed, in this context, the Irish Prison Service has also undertaken to ensure enhanced prison health care procedures are put in place and records are maintained on the removal and relocation of prisoners. A new dedicated committal unit is in operation and a new vulnerable persons unit is being established. Additional security arrangements have been introduced to minimise drugs and contraband entering the prison. Educational facilities will be improved along with the provision of an incentivised regimes programme and an improvement in physical conditions and facilities generally. The type of control and restraint mechanism of some prison officers as detailed by the inspector in his report has been brought to an end.

One of the Government's priorities in the programme for Government was to remove 16 and 17 year old offenders completely from the adult prison system. In this context, the practice of sending 16 year old boys to St. Patrick's Institution ceased on 1 May 2012. From that date, all newly remanded or sentenced 16 year olds have been detained in the children detention facilities in Oberstown. There are no 16 year old prisoners today in St. Patrick's Institution.

The Government has also sanctioned the provision of the necessary funding for a new detention facility at Oberstown. This is due for completion in mid-2014. These matters were all dealt with by me in co-operation with my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Ms Frances Fitzgerald. In the interim, the Minister has agreed to examine the feasibility of accommodating some categories of 17 year old boys in Oberstown on a phased basis earlier than mid-2014, if possible. Arrangements are being made for a number of care staff from the children detention schools to work on placement in St. Patrick's Institution alongside prison staff. It is intended that this will take place within the next two months. In addition, the remit of the Ombudsman for Children was extended on 1 July 2012 to include St. Patrick's Institution, something she has sought for a number of years and a request with which previous Governments failed to agree or implement.

Very soon after I took office as the Minster for Justice and Equality, I initiated a consultation process with the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention regarding the introduction of a new complaints procedure for the prison system. This process has been completed recently with the appointment of a panel of 22 external investigators, and the new complaints system will go live on 1 November next. I have instructed the director general of the Prison Service to direct the new investigators to commence an examination of previous complaints in St. Patrick's Institution, such as those referred to by the inspector in his report.

I am conscious and only too well aware that a series of reports going back many years were produced on St. Patrick's Institution, in particular on the need to remove 16 and 17 year olds from there. These reports were not acted upon by previous Ministers for Justice or Governments. I will not be going the same route. This report will not be and has not been ignored. The Irish Prison Service and I, in consultation with the inspector, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and the Irish Youth Justice Service, have acted with great speed to address the issues raised in this report. It is my objective to bring to an end as rapidly as possible the situation of accommodating 17 year olds in St. Patrick's Institution.

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