Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his plans to reform the prisoner gratuity scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19438/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware all prisoners have a statutory entitlement to a daily gratuity. The current rate of gratuity, applicable since 1st January, 2004, is €2.35 daily, which equates to a weekly total of €16.45.

In accordance with the Prison Rules, 2007, additional gratuity payments may be made to prisoners engaged in authorised structured activities. This additional allowance is typically paid in the form of vouchers which can be used to purchase goods in the prison tuck shop. The levels of additional gratuity paid in respect of different types of structured activities are set by the senior Governor in each institution and currently the value of these allowances is approximately €10 per week.

The purpose of the gratuity is twofold. Firstly, it allows prisoners to purchase personal goods which are not provided by the prison. Secondly, it allows prisoners to save money which on release may assist them in making a new start, e.g. putting a deposit on accommodation or buying new clothes.

Each prison has a shop in which personal items are available for purchase by prisoners. These items include newspapers, toiletries, Christmas and birthday cards, presents for their children and family members and confectionary. The payment of the gratuity reduces the pressure to provide funds, which may be placed on the family left outside. Many prisoners families have difficulty in subsidising the person in custody and The majority of these families and can ill afford to fund the purchase of these items. There are also significant numbers of prisoners who have no external support whatsoever and are totally dependent on the gratuity to purchase personal items that are not supplied by the prison.

As with all monies paid out of the Irish Prison Service Vote, the payment of gratuities is routinely monitored and reviewed and in this context it is proposed to review the payment of gratuities and additional allowances to prisoners. It is not possible at this point to foresee whether this will lead to a reform of the gratuities system, but as with all such reviews, value for money for the taxpayer will be to the forefront.