Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of the integrated sentence management system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2681/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Prison Service is developing and rolling out a fully co-ordinated Integrated Sentence Management system (ISM) across all prisons and places of detention. ISM involves a new emphasis on prisoners taking greater personal responsibility for their own development through active engagement with both specialist and non-specialist services in the prisons. The end result will be a prisoner-centred approach to working with prisoners with provision for initial assessment, goal setting and periodic review to measure progress. ISM was first introduced on a pilot basis in Arbour Hill and Wheatfield prisons. During 2009, it was extended to additional numbers of prisoners in these prisons and was also initiated in the Training Unit and the Midlands Prison. Preparatory work also commenced in St. Patrick's Institution. Altogether over 200 prisoners have participated in ISM to date. Parallel work on a range of necessary system supports such as the development of an IT database and staff training is ongoing. It is envisaged that ISM will be consolidated in these five prisons in 2010, with approximately 500 prisoners participating by the end of the year. ISM will continue to be rolled out to all other institutions on a phased basis, subject to the availability of resources.