Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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3. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline his engagement with Northern Ireland and British authorities regarding prisoner issues in Northern Ireland; his views on the concerns of those who see these matters as threatening peace and stability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23287/14]

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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My question relates to the Government's engagement with authorities both in Northern Ireland and in Britain on continuing serious issues of prisoners in prison in Northern Ireland. It is having an effect on the peace process.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Policing, prisons and overall criminal justice policy have been the responsibility of the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland, David Ford MLA, since the devolution of policing and justice in 2010. The Irish Government has a close and excellent working relationship with the Minister and his Department and co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the PSNI to combat criminal and terrorist activity is excellent. As Minister responsible for foreign affairs I very much value my engagement with the Minister, Mr. Ford, and our exchanges cover a wide range of issues. Since 2010, the Irish Government’s primary responsibility is to ensure the justice systems which are in place are robust and consistent with the principles and values of the Good Friday Agreement and the other agreements for which we are co-guarantors.

Prison policy forms a central part of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice’s remit and an executive agency, the Northern Ireland Prison Service, implements prison policy in that jurisdiction. A prisoner ombudsman is also appointed by the Minister and the ombudsman operates entirely independently of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

The Northern Ireland Prisoner Ombudsman and his team investigate complaints from prisoners and visitors to prisoners in Northern Ireland, as well as deaths in custody.

I wholeheartedly agree with the analysis of the Minister of Justice, Mr. Ford, that delivery of a reformed justice system has a major part to play in building a more positive future for Northern Ireland. I commend the work under way to give effect to the far-reaching recommendations related to prison reform in Northern Ireland contained in Dame Anne Owers' 2011 report. The Government’s position continues to be that full implementation of all of the recommendations made in the Owers report remains the most effective way to ensure conditions within all prisons in Northern Ireland are of an acceptable standard. The Minister, Mr. Ford, and I have discussed it and are of one mind on the matter.

A central aspect of my engagement with the Minister, Mr. Ford, is the Government’s absolute support for the men and women of the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Prison Service in their work to support the rule of law and a new beginning for justice in Northern Ireland. The men and women in these excellent public services face persistent and severe threats to their lives and well-being from those who are enemies of the peace process. People who threaten and have acted to murder, harm and threaten police and prison officers act in defiance of the criminal law. They also defy the sovereign will of the people who freely endorsed the principles and values of the Good Friday Agreement in an all-island referendum just over 16 years ago on May 22 1998. I call on all Irish republicans who try to justify threats against public servants to listen to the people. It is long past time to end the violence. The door is open to join the rest of us who seek change through dialogue, persuasion and the ballot box. The people have chosen peace and they should heed their will.

As previously indicated in the House, the arrangements agreed for the devolution of policing and justice in 2010 include a role for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in national security matters. I am aware that such prisoner cases have had resonance historically in communities here and abroad. My officials in the British-Irish Intergovernmental Council secretariat in Belfast continue to monitor prisoner cases which arise from the exercise of such competences. As the House will know, I have on a number of occasions raised the Government’s perspective on humanitarian issues in certain cases directly with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Such issues are part of my regular and comprehensive discussions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, as we work together to guarantee that peace, policing and power sharing are supported by all of us all of the time.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Everybody in the House agrees that we are all on the same wavelength when it comes to bringing an end to violence; nobody wants to see a return to violence. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware that an Oireachtas group has been paying frequent visits to prisoners in Northern Ireland. I stress again that our focus with the prisoners is on their human rights and also on ensuring there is no threat, undermining or destabilising of the peace process in Northern Ireland. We paid our most recent visit last Monday week and the four of us who were there emerged feeling extremely alarmed and disturbed by what we had heard from both republican and loyalist prisoners on continuing issues that were not being addressed. A dirty process ended almost four years ago, at the end of which agreements were reached. An ombudsman’s report was carried out and various forum meetings took place in the prison. The group from the Oireachtas has met the Minister of Justice, Mr. Ford, on several occasions. We also met the Secretary of State and officials in the Northern Ireland Office. All of us agree that these issues remain unaddressed. I refer to controlled movement, strip searching and access to education. Prisoners with political affiliations who should not be there are in a care and supervision unit, CSU, in the prison. It is like a punishment block and operates on a 23 hour lock-down basis. One particular prisoner received an indeterminate five year custodial sentence because his fingerprint was found on a plastic bag containing a pipe bomb. I am not in favour of pipe bombs, but the evidence was circumstantial. Other prisoners guilty of pipe bomb explosions received lesser sentences, which suggests something is wrong in the North. These serious issues are not being addressed.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I am aware of the good work done by a group of Members of the Oireachtas who have been visiting prisons in Northern Ireland and in contact with the prison service. I am open to receiving and dealing with any report, comment or observation that comes from the group. My officials are open to this also. The officials in the British-Irish Interparliamentary Council secretariat in Belfast are very much aware of the situation and we are very happy to pursue matters relating to prison conditions and humanitarian issues. However, we must also factor in the threats that have been made to prison officers. Since 2009 dissident groups have been responsible for the deaths of two British army personnel, two PSNI officers and a member of the Northern Ireland Prison Service in November 2012. Threats continue to be made to these officers and this must stop. We will deal with the reports coming from Members of the Oireachtas who visit the prisons. I discuss such matters on a continuing basis with the Minister, Mr. Ford, and also the Secretary of State, in so far as her limited responsibility in the area is concerned in terms of prisons in Northern Ireland.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Our concern is that matters will get worse unless the long-standing prisoner issues on which agreement was reached at the end of the dirty protest are addressed. A prisoner is chained to a police officer on leaving prison and the chain is not released until he comes back to the prison. He is strip searched both on leaving and returning to the prison. During the G8 summit in the North we saw the extent of the security operation and there has been no movement on the introduction of an alternative to strip searching. A prisoner was released recently on certain conditions. There is a six month period during which he cannot live near his home. The position will be reviewed and there is a possibility that the condition will be extended for a further six months. The person concerned has to wear an electronic tag for six months and there is a curfew between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. He cannot associate with people on a list, some of whom he does not even know. He is not permitted to hold a valid passport or make an application for one during the first six months of release. He spent four months in Maghaberry Prison because his licence was revoked. During the four years he was not interviewed by the PSNI and never charged with an offence, yet he faces the conditions I have outlined on his so-called release. I do not know the motivation of the Secretary of State and the Minister, Mr. Ford, but they are escalating dissident activity in the North. Nobody wants to see this happen, but nobody is trying to engage with them to find a solution to these matters.

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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An early priority for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland was prison reform. The Owers report was commissioned and I understand some progress has been made on its implementation. I have discussed the matter on a number of occasions with the Minister, Mr. Ford, and will continue to do so.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Will the matter be raised tomorrow?

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I will not meet the Minister tomorrow; I will meet the Secretary of State. The Minister agrees that a reformed justice and prison system has a major part to play in ensuring a more positive future for Northern Ireland. Our position is that there must be full implementation of the recommendations made in the Owers report. That is the best way to ensure conditions within all prisons in Northern Ireland are of an acceptable standard. We will continue to have that discussion with the Minister and the Secretary of State and through the British-Irish Interparliamentary Council secretariat. We are open to hearing the comments and receiving the observations of the Oireachtas group that has visited the prisons and ensuring the issues raised are addressed.