Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to present the Prisons Bill 2015 to the House on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who has been unavoidably detained on other important business. The main purpose of the Bill is to facilitate the complete closing of St. Patrick's Institution. The Bill will repeal statutory provisions that enable the courts to order the detention of offenders under the age of 21 years in St. Patrick's Institution and also delete references to St. Patrick's Institution from the Statute Book.

St Patrick's Institution was originally established in Clonmel early in the last century as a borstal institution for young male offenders. It was transferred to its current site adjacent to Mountjoy Prison in 1956. The Criminal Justice Act 1960 which gave St. Patrick's Institution its statutory title made provision for the sentencing of

offenders aged 16 to 20 years to detention in that institution.

The detention of children in St Patrick's Institution has been the subject of consistent criticism for many years. The report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Penal System under the chairmanship of Dr. T. K. Whitaker in 1985 noted that "the dominant features of St. Patrick's for the majority of those contained there are boredom and demoralisation". The report recommended the closing of St. Patrick's Institution as soon as possible, stating:

Rehabilitation is not possible where the physical and environmental conditions are such as to nullify any personal developmental programmes. The facilities and services which a human and morally acceptable detention centre should provide for juveniles could not be provided even in a renovated St. Patrick's.

The former Inspector of Prisons, Mr. Justice Dermot Kinlen, in his annual report for 2004 and 2005 described St. Patrick's Institution as a "finishing school for bullying and developing criminal skills".

The detention of children in St. Patrick's Institution has been criticised by the Ombudsman for Children, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the European Committee of Social Rights and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. In addition, organisations such as the Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Children's Rights Alliance have called for the detention of children in St Patrick's Institution to be ended.

The programme for Government 2011 to 2016 included a commitment to end the practice of sending children to St. Patrick's Institution. Very significant progress has been made by the Government in fulfilling the programme for Government commitment. Responsibility for 16-year-old males remanded in custody or sentenced to detention was transferred from the Irish Prison Service to the children detention schools at Oberstown in May 2012. The €56 million development of national children detention facilities at Oberstown is almost complete. This development will increase the number of children detention places available on the campus to enable the transfer of responsibility for all children remanded in custody or sentenced to detention from the Irish Prison Service to the children detention schools.

In 2012 the Inspector of Prisons, Mr. Justice Michael Reilly, presented an inspection report on St. Patrick's Institution which raised serious issues and concerns. The inspector reported that a combination of, among other things, weak management, the culture in the prison, inattention to human rights norms, prisoners on protection and the prevalence of drugs meant that St. Patrick's Institution had not lived up to the mission statement of the Irish Prison Service. He 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.

In his annual report for 2012 the Inspector of Prisons acknowledged the efforts made by prison management to deal with the issues previously identified at St. Patrick's Institution and the improvements made. However, in follow-up inspections undertaken in March 2013 he found disturbing incidents of non-compliance with best practice and breaches of the fundamental rights of prisoners. He reported that, despite the best efforts of management, the culture in St. Patrick's Institution had not changed and that the safe and secure custody of young offenders detained there could no longer be guaranteed. He recommended that the facility be closed, that prisoners be dispersed to other institutions, that existing staff be dispersed likewise and that the name St. Patrick's Institution be consigned to history. In line with the recommendations made by the Inspector of Prisons and in order to effect the changes necessary in the regime and culture and ensure safe and secure custody, the Government decided in July 2013 to close St. Patrick's Institution completely.

As an interim step, arrangements were made for sentenced 17-year-old males to be transferred, shortly after committal to St. Patrick's Institution, to a dedicated unit in Wheatfield Place of Detention. This is an interim measure until they can be accommodated in the new children detention facilities at Oberstown. Males aged 18 to 20 years sentenced to detention are detained in a separate unit at Wheatfield. Subsequently, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs made the necessary orders under the Children Act 2001 to transfer responsibility for newly remanded 17-year-old males to Oberstown from 30 March 2015. However, for legal reasons, it has been necessary to retain St. Patrick's Institution on a contingency basis for remands awaiting places in Oberstown. The courts have on occasion remanded 16 and 17-year-olds to St. Patrick's Institution for short periods until places in Oberstown become available. These children cannot be transferred to Wheatfield because section 88 of the Children Act 2001 which provides for the remand of children in custody does not permit the transfer of remanded children from St. Patrick's Institution to a place of detention.

The Children (Amendment) Act 2015, for which the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is responsible, was passed earlier this year. When operational, the Act will enable the full transfer of responsibility for children in detention to the children detention schools. The Act provides for the repeal of all legislative provisions which permit the detention of children in adult prison facilities. The relevant provisions of the Children (Amendment) Act cannot be commenced until Oberstown is ready to receive sentenced persons aged 17 years. This will not be possible until sufficient additional staff have been recruited. While the Irish Youth Justice Service has experienced difficulty with recruitment, the necessary staff are expected to be in place early in 2016.

Two partial closing orders under section 2 of the Prisons Act 1933 have been made in relation to St. Patrick's Institution. However, it will be necessary for the Prisons Bill to be enacted before St. Patrick's Institution can be completely closed. When closed, the intention is that the St. Patrick's Institution buildings will be designated as part of Mountjoy Male Prison. The Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs will give particular attention to the need to co-ordinate the commencement of the relevant provisions of the Children (Amendment) Act 2015 and the Prisons Bill, when enacted.

Part 1 of the Bill contains standard preliminary and general provisions. Section 3 provides for the repeal of certain enactments relating to St. Patrick's Institution. The provisions to be repealed mostly relate to court powers to commit offenders under the age of 21 years to detention in St. Patrick's Institution. These repeals will have the effect of ending the separate categorisation of males aged 18 to 20 years for the purposes of sentencing. Where a custodial sentence is imposed on such a person, he will be committed to his local committal prison and can subsequently be transferred onwards, where appropriate, to another prison or place of detention. The section also contains a transitional provision to ensure the continued lawfulness of the detention of persons previously sentenced to detention under the repealed provisions.

Part 2 of the Bill will enable St. Patrick’s Institution to be completely closed. The main provision in this Part is section 6 which provides for the complete closing of St. Patrick's Institution by ministerial order. The section also contains transitional provisions to deal with warrants for the committal or remand of persons to St. Patrick's Institution which remain unexecuted on the date St. Patrick's Institution is closed. The section provides that, following the closing of St. Patrick's Institution, any outstanding warrant that refers to St. Patrick's Institution as the place of committal or remand can be executed in a specified prison. In addition, provision is made for persons on temporary release from St. Patrick's Institution on the date of its closing.

Part 3 of the Bill provides for the removal of references to St. Patrick's Institution from the Statute Book. These provisions, contained in sections 7 to 22, inclusive, are technical drafting amendments which are consequential on the closing of St. Patrick's Institution and do not otherwise affect the provisions concerned. It is proposed to retain the references to St. Patrick's Institution in a small number of legislative provisions in order to avoid unintended consequences for the operation of these provisions.

Part 4 of the Bill deals with issues that have emerged regarding the closing of prisons. The transfer of detainees aged 17 years and in the 18 to 20 year age group out of St. Patrick's Institution required Wheatfield Prison to be closed as a prison and reopened as a place of detention. However, the existence of unexecuted warrants directing the committal of persons specifically to Wheatfield Prison meant that it could not be completely closed as a prison. An interim solution was implemented to deal with this issue. Wheatfield Prison was closed, with the exception of the gatehouse, which, in law, remains open as a prison. This means that persons can be brought there on foot of committal warrants which specify Wheatfield Prison before being immediately transferred elsewhere in the prison system. The main part of Wheatfield Prison that was closed was reopened as Wheatfield Place of Detention.

Section 23 will amend section 2 of the Prisons Act 1933 which provides that the Minister for Justice and Equality may make a closing order directing the closing of a prison or part of a prison. The amendments have two purposes. The first is to provide that, following the closing of a prison, any outstanding warrant that refers to that prison as the place of committal can be executed in another specified prison. The second purpose is to address the situation of persons on temporary release from a prison which has been closed. The amendments will deal with the current situation at Wheatfield and also any future prison closure.

We are all aware that the path from St. Patrick's Institution to Mountjoy Prison has been too well worn during the years. We must interrupt the predictable path of violence, crime and repeat offending which progresses to further serious offending and committals in adult prisons. The Government's unprecedented programme of reform in closing St. Patrick’s Institution and developing national children detention facilities at Oberstown will allow young people who are sentenced to detention to be placed in a secure environment that will offer them a better chance, in the words of the Children Act 2001, “to take their place in the community as persons who observe the law and are capable of making a positive and productive contribution to society". It is now a matter of when, not if, there will be a final end to the practice of detaining children in adult prison facilities. I hope the Prisons Bill will be passed by the Dáil and the Seanad quickly in order that St. Patrick's Institution will finally be consigned to history at the earliest possible date. I commend the Bill to the House.

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