Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the findings and recommendations of the Irish prison chaplains annual report 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9079/08]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will acknowledge that whereas the 2006/2007 Annual Report of the Irish Prison Service Chaplains contains certain criticisms of the prison system it also rightly recognises the significant progress that is being made in improving the system. The Report highlights and welcomes some of the major developments which have taken place in the period covered by the Report. In particular, the Report welcomed the advances that are being made in enhancing the range of rehabilitative services within the prisons and the provision of additional staffing to support these activities.

There are a number of other important issues raised in the Report to which the Deputy refers, and I would like to take this opportunity to respond to some of these:

Sentence Management

The Irish Prison Service is currently planning for the roll out of Integrated Sentence Management (ISM), which will be funded under the National Development Plan, starting in 2008 and delivered progressively over the lifetime of the Plan. The end result will see a prisoner-centred, multidisciplinary approach to working with prisoners with provision for initial assessment, goal setting and periodic review to measure progress.

Sex Offenders Programme

With regard to the Sex Offender Programme, there is no question of any sex offender who wishes to participate on this programme being denied a place due to the lack of availability. The Irish Prison Service will provide as many programmes for these offenders as are required. It should also be noted that in addition to the men currently undertaking that programme, circa sixty other sex offenders have participated during the last year in one-to-one work related to their offending.

Reintegration

In relation to the Report's comments on reintegration, the Irish Prison Service, in partnership with community based groups, has developed a number of projects supporting prisoner reintegration in recent years. These projects have focused on the range of issues facing prisoners on their release such as homelessness, unemployment etc.

Education

Educational services are now available at all institutions and are provided in partnership with a range of educational agencies in the community including the VECs, Public Library Services, Colleges and the Arts Council. During the academic year 2007/08, 220 whole-time-equivalent VEC teachers are the main providers of these education programmes.

St. Patrick's Institution

As the Deputy will note, the Chaplains' Report commends the recent efforts by the prison management at St. Patrick's Institution to improve conditions there, including the improved educational facilities and the provision of separate accommodation and education units there for those under 18 years and those over 18 years.

Drugs Policy

The Chaplain's Report also welcomed positive developments in the area of drug treatment. Significant additional resources have been dedicated to enhancing the range and quality of drug treatment services in the prison since the launch of the Irish Prison Service Drugs Policy 'Keeping Drugs Out of Prisons' in 2006. This has included the appointment of additional Addiction Nurses, Psychologists and Prison Officers and the awarding of a contract for the provision of 24 Addiction Counsellors. The range and quality of drug services in prisons has been significantly improved and the Irish Prison Service will continue with their phased implementation of the policy of investing in these services.