Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 469: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to introduce a prison discipline strategy. [19294/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Part 3 of the Prisons Act 2007, which came into operation on 1 October 2007, relates to prison discipline and provided a basis in primary legislation for revised disciplinary procedures applicable to prisoners, including access for prisoners to an independent appeals mechanism. Section 12 provides for an inquiry to be held by a prison governor if a prisoner is alleged to have committed a breach of discipline and provides that the procedures for such an inquiry may be set out in prison rules. The governor may impose a sanction and record the finding and the sanction, or record a finding that the allegation was not substantiated. Section 13 lists the sanctions that may be imposed.

Under section 14, a prisoner on whom a sanction is imposed may make a petition to the Minister on the finding or the sanction, and the Minister, following consultation with the governor, may affirm, alter, suspend or revoke the sanction imposed. Section 15 introduces an independent appeals mechanism to review loss of remission for prisoners. It provides that a prisoner against whom a penalty involving loss of remission has been imposed may make an appeal to an independent Appeal Tribunal. This Appeals Tribunal was established by my predecessor in January of this year. The Tribunal may uphold or quash the original finding and may affirm, vary or quash the original sanction applied. I wish to advise the Deputy that to date four prisoners have appealed disciplinary penalties which consist of or include loss of remission. Arrangements are being made to hear the appeals in the coming weeks.