Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

70. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that some 70% of prisoners in Irish jails have issues with literacy; the steps she is taking to address this situation; the discussions she has had with the Ministers of Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15885/22]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Is the Minister as shocked as I am - maybe I should not be shocked - to discover that some 70% of prisoners in Irish jails have literacy problems? Does she consider that an issue that must be addressed on an integrated way across government? What is she going to do about it?

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | 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.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response but it focused entirely on the in-prison service, as though everybody looks at the situation in their own silo. It is shocking that so many people who have clearly been failed by the education system end up in prison. What is going to be done about that in a joined-up way? I recall a former prison governor indicating that the vast bulk of the inmates in that prison were drawn from an identifiable number of postcodes. Does the Minister of State consider he has a responsibility to reduce the numbers that end up in prison? Does he regard the focus on literacy and numeracy in education as a critical component in that regard or is it nothing to do with the Department of Justice but entirely a matter for the Departments of Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science?

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It is critical that the Department of Justice works with the Departments of Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. It is doing so. I agree with the Deputy regarding the concerns. While in opposition, I raised the fact that if all the inmates who cannot read or write were taken out, the number of prisons would be substantially reduced.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

It is 70% of prisoners.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That statistic proves that. We now have a hardcore statistic in that regard. It is a matter of which I am very aware, as is the Minister, Deputy McEntee. That is why there is this level of collaboration with the Departments of Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to try to address this issue. Obviously, education is primarily a matter for those Departments but we in the Department of Justice have an important role in that regard. As Minister of State with responsibility for youth justice, I have that role in particular. That is why education is a very important part of the youth justice strategy we launched last year. Keeping those kids in school, particularly through the transitional phase when they move from primary school into secondary school at 13 or 14 years of age, is key. Some kids can get into serious difficulty at that stage. It is certainly a matter of which I am very conscious, as is the Minister, Deputy McEntee.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the reply of the Minister of State and the focus to which he referred, but his initial response to me and the House focused entirely on the in-prison education system. What I hoped would be focused on, which he indicated he was focused on it while in opposition, is preventing people ending up in prison in the first place. A collaborative effort between the Departments of Justice and Education is needed to deal with that. What sort of resources and what level of priority are going into that prevention phase of the work? It is like health education in the Department of Health - it is never regarded as a great priority. In health, they treat the disease rather than prevent it. It would be a really important part of the work of the Minister of State if we could have a co-ordinated and well-resourced strategy to stop people ending up in prison in the first place.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am in full agreement with the Deputy on this. That prevention piece is critical. One of the things I have been doing since lockdown ended is visiting youth diversion projects, initially mostly in Dublin, but subsequently widening that circle across the country. With the funding for youth diversion projects we received in the budget in October, we will now be able fund the new role of family support workers, as well as additional youth workers. They are not only working with the families to try to strengthen the environment at home, but working with schools as well. I have been very impressed with the level of engagement of youth diversion projects, including youth workers, family support workers and juvenile liaison officers, with local schools. I want that strengthened and I have had several conversations with the Minister for Education in respect of that piece and, in particular, the issue of reduced class timetables, which puts vulnerable children very much at risk. She is aware of that and has been working on it and putting many policies in place. It is certainly a matter of which I am very aware. My initial response to the Deputy's question was written very much from the perspective of the Department of Justice but, as Minister of State with responsibility for youth justice, I am acutely aware of this issue. I know the Deputy has long been a crusader on it.