Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the recent meeting held by the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement Committee on the situation in Maghaberry Prison, at which the Deputy was present. In addition to hearing from a prominent solicitor, the committee was briefed by two members of the independent assessment team set up to monitor implementation of the 2010 agreement between separated prisoners in Maghaberry and the Northern Ireland Prison Service. It was very useful that they were able to share insights based on their involvement with the prison over a number of years. As the Deputy will recall, a stock take report of the 2010 agreement was published in November 2014. It made a number of recommendations to be implemented within a period of six months. At the time, my strong view was that the full implementation of the stock take report offered an opportunity to create a conflict-free environment in the prison. I conveyed this view in my regular meetings with the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, and with the then Minister of Justice in the Executive, David Ford MLA, and with their successors.

In addition, my officials continue to engage on a regular and ongoing basis with a range of interlocutors across the devolved and non-devolved authorities, members of the stock take group, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and others to discuss, explore and encourage progress.

As the Oireachtas committee heard during its recent deliberations, the 2010 agreement has not been fully implemented and this contributes to the ongoing tensions at the prison. In this context, I highlight the failure to establish the prison forum, which is disappointing. This is something which I have raised in my discussions with the NIO and the Minister for Justice. I continue to encourage all those with good offices to move on the forum but at this stage it is clear that momentum has been lost.

Also heightening tension has been the sense of threat which prison officers and their families perceive. The murders of two prison officers, Adrian Ismay last March and David Black in 2012, have set back relations between prison officers and prisoners, in addition to being a tragedy for the families and friends of the murdered officers.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The Northern Ireland Executive this summer agreed to implement the recommendation of the fresh start paramilitary panel that a review of the separated regime in Maghaberry be established. I look forward to the review panel being appointed and to seeing their work completed. I believe that the review opens up an opportunity to address genuine concerns regarding separation, including such issues as association on the landings and access to education. My Department engaged fully in the paramilitary panel's consultation process.

As the Oireachtas committee also heard, Maghaberry Prison was identified by the criminal justice inspector, Brendan McGuigan, in a report last year as needing work to make the prison safer and to improve conditions for staff. Since publication of that report, the criminal justice inspectorate has continued with a programme of announced, low-impact visits to the prison which find that the situation has stabilised and that some progress has been achieved. More work remains to be done. In this regard, I acknowledge the additional report on Maghaberry published by the inspectorate today.

In making the desired progress in Maghaberry, the co-operation of both the Northern Ireland Prison Service and the prisoners themselves is required. I would encourage all with influence to move forward in the right spirit.

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