Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the committee for its report on penal reform and sentencing. As I mentioned at the committee two weeks ago, the report is detailed and comprehensive. It has many implications across a range of services and bodies to which the Cathaoirleach has referred. I agree the recommendations of the report are such that they require examination on my part. I assure the Cathaoirleach, members of the committee and the House that my officials are currently examining them. I would be very happy to engage further with the committee when that process is complete.

I very much welcome the report as a valuable contribution to the debate on the issues of penal reform and sentencing. I take the opportunity to give details of the many progressive reforms that have taken place in recent times, as well as some future plans which are in the process of being implemented and which have relevance to many of the issues raised in the report.

As Deputies will be aware, the strategic review of penal policy produced by the penal policy review group and published in September 2014 advocates an approach to crime and the penal system that emphasises rehabilitation. It calls for an improved penal system, the reduction of reliance on imprisonment as a sanction and increased focus on alternatives. These are very much the themes which reflect the spirit of the report of the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality.

Dr. Mary Rogan is the independent chairperson of the implementation and oversight group established in early 2015 to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the review group. This group comprises officials from the Department of Justice and Equality, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service and the Garda Síochána. It reports to me on a six-monthly basis on the implementation status of the recommendations of the group.

The group has presented five reports to me to date, all of which were published on the Department's website. The implementation of the group's recommendations constitutes the broad reform programme of penal policy being undertaken. From initial examination of the recommendations of the committee's report, many are linked with and complementary to the report of the PPRG.

I will address a number of issues raised in the report. In terms of prison numbers, Ireland has a relatively low rate of imprisonment by international standards. According to the most recent published statistics, Ireland's imprisonment rate is 78.1 per 100,000 of population. The equivalent European average is 129.9. The median figure is 117.1. Of 50 countries surveyed by the Council of Europe, only 11 have lower imprisonment rates than Ireland. The PPRG recommended the adoption of a strategy to reduce prisoner numbers to a safe level subject to the need to ensure proper protection of the public. In light of this, my officials are drafting a strategy which is expected to be finalised by the end of this year. I assure the House the recommendations made in the committee's report in this area will be fully considered in the context of developing that strategy.

With regard to females in prison, the planned redevelopment of a new female prison in Limerick will provide, in addition to 42 single occupancy rooms, an additional eight independent living areas. The capacity of Limerick female prison is 28. The stand-alone facility within the prison, with all the required ancillary services, will greatly enhance the accommodation regimes and supports available to women. The development of a step-down facility for female prisoners, which will be going to tender shortly, is intended to allow such women, who have served a large portion of their sentence in a closed prison environment, to gain some normalisation skills through living in a semi-independent manner. I acknowledge what the Chairman of the committee said in his contribution on this issue of living in a semi-independent manner and moving towards independence, all of which is necessary in the context of the reintegration, at some future date, of the prisoner into society.

I will mention healthcare for prisoners. Prisoners have wide-ranging and sometimes complex healthcare needs. The 2014 report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment recommended a fundamental review of healthcare services in Irish prisons and that the provision of healthcare in Irish prisons should be part of the general health service. This recommendation was underscored by the 2016 Healthcare in Irish Prisons report by the late Inspector of Prisons, which made a similar recommendation. This independent review will take place following the recruitment of the executive clinical lead as the central point of contact for the Irish Prison Service. This appointment will be announced shortly. Terms of reference will be finalised by my Department, the Department of Health and the Irish Prison Service. I will then engage a competitive process to select an independent body to undertake the review. An interdepartmental group to examine issues relating to people with mental illness who come in contact with the criminal justice system was also set up. This includes representatives of the Department of Justice and Equality, the Department of Health, the HSE, the National Forensic Mental Health Service, the Garda Síochána, the Office of the DPP and the Irish Prison Service. The interdepartmental group's first interim report was published in September 2016. The report sets out the work of the interdepartmental group with regard to how diversion could be facilitated where appropriate at all stages of the criminal justice process up to the conclusion of a criminal trial.

The second report of the group explores matters relating to mental health services for prisoners, matters relating to patients detained under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 and post-release mental health services for former prisoners. This report will be published shortly. The implementation of the recommendations of both reports will be considered very soon thereafter. Many of the committee's recommendations cover areas related to both the interdepartmental group report and the review of health in prisons. The degree of broad consensus on objectives is worthy of note.

I will refer to what the Chairman of the justice committee has said on the issue of post-release. They are not issues upon which we disagree, although I am sure the Chairman might disagree with the pace of implementation of change in this regard. When a prisoner is released from custody, he or she is faced with an entirely new set of challenges. As a result of the number of different agencies and organisations involved in preparing a prisoner for life after release, it is necessary to have joined-up thinking. Interagency and interdepartmental working was a key theme emerging from the work of the penal policy review group report. Homelessness, drug addiction and recidivism are issues being considered by an interagency group chaired by Dr. Ruth Barrington. I understand this group, which is called the interagency group for a fairer and safer Ireland, will present a report to me over the coming months on its work to date. The report will be published.

The Probation Service is the lead agency in the assessment and management of offenders in our communities. It is committed to reducing offending, creating safer communities and having fewer victims through offender rehabilitation. Two important examples of promoting positive change and reintegration are the community service scheme, which provides a direct alternative to imprisonment for appropriate offenders to perform unpaid work for the benefit of the community, and the community return scheme as an alternative to completing a prison sentence.

Many offenders have complex needs which require a broad range of support and assistance. Engagement in education and training and access to behaviour management and treatment services can play a vital role in both rehabilitation and reintegration. In this respect, in 2017 my Department, through the Probation Service, provided funding of approximately €17 million to a range of community-based organisations. The Probation Service strategy for 2018-2020, which I launched earlier this week, commits to the further development of a professional service that is effective in reducing the risk of offending. The Probation Service works closely with the Irish Prison Service to ensure prisoners leaving custody are as best prepared as possible. Their joint strategic plan 2018-2020, also launched this week, is a practical example of agencies working together. The strategic objective of the plan is to have a multi-agency approach to offender management and rehabilitation from pre-imprisonment to post-imprisonment in order to reduce reoffending and improve outcomes for prisoners.

A Government decision was taken in April to proceed with the Private Members' Bill to establish a statutory parole board. This is in line with the long-standing Government commitment to set up a parole board on a statutory basis. Following Government approval, drafting has begun on relevant amendments which will be brought on Report Stage. It is expected these amendments will have been drafted soon. My Department is continuing to engage with Deputy O'Callaghan on this Bill and I thank him for his work in the area.

I am aware that over the past few minutes I have only touched on some of the key aspects of the report of the committee. I will be happy to give an overall view of a system that has undertaken reform and continues to do so. I thank the Chairman for the report and the committee members for their work in assisting the Chairman in the final production of the report. It is a most valuable contribution to the process of reform. It is striking that the committee's report represents a broad, all-party consensus on proposals for a progressive penal system. It is something that would not have been the case in the House a decade ago. I acknowledge the Chairman's work in that regard and in ensuring the report has the imprimatur of all parties on the committee and none.

I am very pleased this debate is taking place this afternoon. I am not sure how many further contributions there will be. I look forward to engaging and I would be happy to keep the committee fully informed of my consideration of aspects of the report and its recommendations. I am sure that perhaps towards the end of the summer I will have an opportunity of further engaging on this issue.

This is a comprehensive report that covers many of the most important and challenging issues facing our criminal justice system in the treatment of those persons in society whom the independent courts system deems should be denied their liberty. It is important that we underline our policy on the prison system with a view to ensuring that when people discharge their sanction and pay their penalty by serving a period in custody and when they acknowledge the time in which their liberty was denied, they will be in a position to reintegrate into society in a way that benefits society, reduces offending and is in everyone's best interests.

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