Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 65: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the mechanisms in place to respond to the reports of the Inspector of Prisons; the specific changes that have been made arising from the reports of the current Inspector of Prisons since their appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21551/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Reports of the Inspector of Prisons are submitted to me as Minister. They are then laid before each House of the Oireachtas and published. They provide an independent report on the operation of our prison system and are of great value to me in drawing attention to progress being made and to any particular difficulties arising.

As a matter of course all such reports are referred by my Department to the Director General of the Irish Prison Service for consideration by him and his Senior Management Team with a view to examining the feasibility of implementing the recommendations contained therein. While in general recommendations pertaining to maintenance and general housekeeping issues can be implemented immediately, others pertaining, for example, to personnel recruitment and accommodation may have to be addressed over a longer period of time.

I have received two reports to date from the current Inspector pertaining to the operation of individual prisons or places of detention. His report on Loughan House Place of Detention has already been published and is available for inspection on my Department's website, www.justice.ie. In the case of the other report, on Castlerea prison, I am currently arranging for its translation and publication. I am informed by the Irish Prison Service that the majority of the recommendations made in the two reports have now been addressed.