James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. Care and rehabilitation are core aims of the Irish Prison Service. Sentences are managed to encourage and support prisoners in their efforts to reintegrate into society and live law-abiding lives on release. My Department and the Departments of Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science engage with the service to ensure a range of education opportunities are available to those in custody and those who have served their sentence. This is in line with goal 3 of Justice Plan 2022, which sets out our commitment to developing and supporting policies to reduce reoffending and help safely reintegrate those who have committed crimes back into their communities.

The provision of education is an important prison-based service and key to improving outcomes for prisoners and reducing recidivism. Poor literacy skills, a history of previous educational difficulties or failure and negative educational experience often combine to create powerful barriers to engaging with prison education centres and, therefore, the curriculum offered must be broad, flexible and attractive.

Although opportunities up to third-level qualifications are available, a priority for the service is ensuring targeted supports and initiatives are in place focused on basic literacy and numeracy education, including English as a second operating language. Delivered in partnership between the Prison Service and education and training boards, ETBs, opportunities focus on providing quality-assured and student-centred education that facilitates lifelong learning. There is also emphasis on the role of non-accredited learning in enabling adults to return to learning at their own pace and equip them to explore their full potential.

The Building Bridges joint national project led by the Prison Service and SOLAS and sponsored by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is under development and will build on the well-established infrastructure in place between the ETBs and the prison. A collaborative partnership with Maynooth University, entitled Unlocking Potential, is aimed at increasing access to higher education for people with convictions. As part of this, a €100,000 scholarship fund entitled KickStart was recently announced.

The Prison Service is also engaged with Dublin City University to conduct an audit of literacy and numeracy across the prisoner population with a view to informing future development within the services.

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