Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 26: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on whether the reduction in the number of probation officers and community service supervisors resulting from the moratorium on recruitment is compounding the overcrowding problem in our prisons. [19655/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware the Probation Service of my Department has been re-focussing its work in more recent years and part and parcel of that refocussing has been the provision of an increased level of resources. This has meant that despite the impact of the Moratorium and other associated measures such as the Incentivised Scheme of Early Retirement (ISER) and the Incentivised Career Break Scheme (ICBS), the number of staff working in the Service is still greater than at the end of 2006 and only marginally less than at the end of 2007. Excluding those vacancies arising from staff availing of ISER and ICBS, both of which Schemes were specifically designed to reduce Civil Service numbers, 28 whole-time equivalent vacancies have arisen since the introduction of the Moratorium. Of these, 21 are in the ranks of Probation Officer/Community Service Supervisor with the remainder from Administrative Support Staff.

My Department and Probation Service management are keeping the situation under constant review and in the meantime are ensuring that the resources at the disposal of the Service are managed as effectively and efficiently as possible. I can confirm that the Courts have been made aware of the impact of the Government's moratorium on recruitment and priority is being given to assessments that are legally required to be carried out by the Probation Service. I am satisfied that the role of the Probation Service in the operation of the Community Service Scheme continues to provide an alternative to custody for a range of offenders considered suitable to be placed on the Scheme. I do not accept the suggestion in the Deputy's question that there is a link between resources provided to the Probation Service and committals to prison which are judicial decisions made independently of the executive.

As the Deputy will appreciate the Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts into its custody by the courts who are independent in the exercise of its function. The Irish Prison Service does not have the option of refusing committals. Overcrowding in prisons is an international problem and is not unique to Ireland. I do acknowledge that there has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population over recent years. This situation is particularly apparent over the past 12 months during which time the total number in custody has increased by 308. This represents an approximate 8% rise in the number in custody.

The Government has responded to the increasing level of committals to the prison system by providing significant resources to upgrade, replace and increase our prison cell places. This is evidenced by the fact that since 1997 in excess of 1,720 new prison spaces have come on stream in the prison system. These include the new prisons in Castlerea, the Midlands, Cloverhill, the Dóchas Centre and new accommodation in Limerick, Portlaoise and Castlerea prisons and at the open centres in Shelton Abbey and Loughan House.

Current projects will see a further 200 prison spaces provided in the short term in Wheatfield and 300 prison spaces in the medium term in the Portlaoise/Midlands prisons complex. The Deputy will also be aware of the Government's commitment to developing a new prison campus at Thornton Hall, County Dublin. The new prison campus will provide approximately 1,400 cells on a 130 acre site and will have operational flexibility to accommodate up to 2,200 inmates in a range of security settings.