Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I welcome this opportunity to continue the discussion on penal reform. I commend Deputy Stanton and the joint committee for their report which was published in March 2013 and recommends a range of measures designed to further the development of an effective and progressive penal system. I acknowledge Deputy Stanton's point in regard to the delay in discussing this report and will bring that message back to the Minister.

The report recommends that prison numbers be reduced; that prison sentences of less than six months be commuted; an increase in standard remission from one quarter to one third and the introduction of an incentivised remission scheme of up to one half; the introduction of legislation providing for structured release, temporary release, parole and community return; address of prison conditions and overcrowding; and increased use of open prisons. The Minister believes that the committee's report complements the more recent report of the Penal Policy Review Group, which she published last September. This group was asked to make recommendations on how a principled and sustainable penal system might be further enhanced, taking into account resource implications, constitutional imperatives and our international obligations. It was also asked to consider the recommendations contained in the committee's report.

There are common themes in both reports, such as reducing prisoner numbers, improving prison conditions, increased use of open prisons and the placing of the Parole Board on a statutory footing. Both reports acknowledge the considerable progress made in recent years and that more remains to be done. Naturally, there are differences in detail between both reports, which can be explored as part of the ongoing process of implementation.

The committee called for prisoner numbers to be reduced. Prison numbers have since been reducing. In 2013, we saw the first significant decrease in prison numbers since 2007. In 2013, there were 15,735 committals to prison, a decrease of 7.6 % on the 2012 total of 17,026. On 3 March 2015, the prisoner population stood at 3,768, which was 95% of the Inspector of Prisons' recommended total of 3,982. By comparison, on 3 March 2014, the prisoner population stood at 4,045, which was 98% of the inspector's recommended total of 4,124. All of this points to a reducing trend in prisoner numbers, indicative of the progress being made by this Government to reduce the prisoner population and to pursue alternatives to custody.

The Minister believes that a specific target for reducing prisoner numbers should not be set as ultimately there are many factors which must be taken into account, including the rate of crime, public safety and the independence of courts in making sentencing decisions. Sanctions must be appropriate to each offender and not be restricted by a policy which seeks purely to reduce the number of people in prison.

The committee recommended that sentences of imprisonment of under six months for all non-violent offences be commuted and replaced with community service orders. In this regard, it cited the experience in Finland where a court may commute a sentence of less than eight months to community work. The Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Act 2011 goes further than this in that it positively obliges a court to consider community service in any case where there might be a sentence of up to one year.

The committee also recommended that standard remission be raised to one third for all sentences over one month and that enhanced remission of up to one half be made available for certain categories of prisoners who engaged with services within prison. This was considered by the review group which, on balance, came down in favour of retention of the current system of remission, which has a standard rate of one quarter.

The committee recommended that there be a single piece of legislation to provide for various forms of structured release and the recommended changes to the rates of remission. The Minister will consider the potential for consolidation of legislation in such matters.

Finally, the committee recommended that prison conditions be improved and that the amount of open prisons be increased. Members will agree that major improvements have been made in prison conditions in recent years. Overcrowding in Mountjoy Prison has been eliminated and priority is being given to reducing overcrowding in Cork, Limerick and the Dóchas Centre. It is intended to reduce the capacity of our prisons to align with the Inspector of Prisons recommended capacity of 3,982, in so far as this is compatible with public safety and the integrity of the criminal justice system.

Mountjoy Prison has been transformed, almost beyond recognition. A new Cork prison is under construction and is on target to be completed later this year. The business case for the redevelopment of Limerick prison, including the provision of a stand-alone women's prison has been approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Options regarding improved accommodation for prisoners currently housed in the E Block of Portlaoise Prison continue to be explored. The Irish Prison Service and Probation Service Joint Women's Strategy commits the Prison Service to exploring the development of an open centre for women prisoners. A sub-group was established to examine where such a facility might be provided within the prison estate. I understand that the sub-group recently submitted their report to the director general of the Prison Service for his consideration.

The report of the review group contains 43 recommendations, some of which can be implemented in the short to medium term, while others require a more long-term approach. Last November, the Minister obtained the agreement, in principle, of the Government to proceed with the implementation of the following recommendations: the introduction of legislative proposals to establish the Parole Board on an independent statutory basis; preparation of proposals and options for Government on reform of sentencing policy, including a review of the threshold at which presumptive minimum sentences in drugs and other offences apply; preparation of proposals for Government on legislating for the review's recommendation that courts set out in writing their reasons for imposing a custodial sentence; and preparation of proposals on the potential for increased use of earned remission and pursuance of options for an open prison for female offenders. Work to progress the implementation of these decisions is under way.

Following consideration of the review group report by Government, the Minister referred it to the joint committee which broadly welcomed many aspects of it. While the committee expressed disappointment that the review did not include its recommendation on increasing standard remission, I understand it did accept that this could lead to altering or increasing relevant sentences of imprisonment.

The Minister notes the committee's call for her Department to increase its capacity for research and optimise data collection. This proposal is currently being looked at. In its reply the committee also referred to its report on the use and effectiveness of community courts and the recommendation that a trial community court be established in Dublin city to deal with summary and petty offences. The review group also made a recommendation on community courts. The committee report provides a starting point to consider whether the community court model can be of benefit to the Irish criminal justice system. The Minister has already stated that a considerable amount of preparatory work needs to be undertaken in collaboration with all stakeholders before a pilot project can be established. When the matter has been fully examined, she intends to bring forward proposals on the establishment of a community court in Dublin city on a pilot basis.

The review group recommended the establishment of a group that would report every six months to the Minister for Justice and Equality on the implementation of the report. The Minister recently announced the establishment of a penal policy implementation oversight group chaired by Dr. Mary Rogan, Head of Law at Dublin Institute of Technology. Dr. Rogan was a member of the review group and as such has a deep knowledge of the issues addressed in the report. Officials from the Department of Justice and Equality will meet with shortly meet with Dr. Rogan to discuss membership of the group and the mechanics of its operation. Separately, the Department has set up an internal cross divisional working group to co-ordinate and take forward the implementation of the report's recommendations.

Much progress has already been made in terms of some of the recommendations of both reports and the progress to date provides us with a firm base from which to proceed with future reform. Both reports are important contributions to the debate on penal reform. They provide us with a road-map for the future and will be an invaluable source of advice to the Minister for Justice and Equality, the Government and everyone interested in making progressive and effective changes to penal policy. The Minister looks forward to working with Government colleagues, members of the joint committee and others in achieving that goal and hopes she can count on their active support and guidance as she works towards implementing real and meaningful change.

The Deputy made a reference to working harder to keep people out of prison. An article by Neil Gaiman, in The Guardianon 16 October 2013, had a major effect on my position on policing, community, the drugs crisis and literacy, in particular:

I was once in New York, and I listened to a talk about the building of private prisons – a huge growth industry in America. The prison industry needs to plan its future growth – how many cells are they going to need? How many prisoners are there going to be, 15 years from now? And they found they could predict it very easily, using a pretty simple algorithm, based on asking what percentage of 10 and 11-year-olds couldn't read.

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