Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 944: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of hours the library in each prison is scheduled to be open each week; the percentage of scheduled opening times that these libraries were actually open from January to May inclusive in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32455/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Library facilities are available in all prisons. The majority are managed by qualified staff from the Local Authority Library Services whose salary costs are refunded by the Irish Prison Service. Prison staff assist the librarian staff and operate library services in some prisons. The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table in relation to nine prisons.

In relation to the other five prisons comparable data is not available. This is due to the fact that these prisons operate varying access arrangements structured to reflect demand including scheduled and ad-hoc opening hours to best facilitate access by prisoners. Whilst every effort is made to maintain, as far as possible, reasonable access to library facilities in keeping with demand for such access the deployment of resources to other operational functions to ensure the efficient operation of individual prisons has meant that opening hours were restricted in some prisons from time to time over the period.

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 945: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform the number of workshop and work training instructor posts that are vacant in each prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32456/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the filling of vacancies in the Prison Service, in common with the rest of the public service, is subject to the Government Decisions of 3 February and 24 March 2009 on the Implementation of Savings Measures on Public Service Numbers, more generally referred to as the moratorium on public sector recruitment. However, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Minister for Finance has approved the holding of an internal competition to identify suitable candidates to fill work training vacancies in the prison system. This competition is currently underway and the Irish Prison Service will be seeking further sanction to appoint the successful candidates from this competition in due course. The information requested by the Deputy on the existing vacancies is set out in the following table.

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 946: To ask the Minister for Justice and Law Reform his plans to fill the vacant coordinator of education post in the Irish Prison Service with a professional educator; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32457/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the filling of vacancies in the Prison Service, in common with the rest of the public service, is governed by Government Decisions of 3 February and 24 March 2009 on the Implementation of Savings Measures on Public Service Numbers, more generally referred to as the moratorium on public sector recruitment. However, I am informed by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that, notwithstanding the moratorium, approval has been sought from the Minister for Finance for the filling of the currently vacant post of Co-ordinator of Education. This matter remains the subject of discussions between the Irish Prison Service and the Department of Finance.