Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 410: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to set safe custody limits for each prison in line with the recommendations of the inspector of prisons. [35647/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Inspector of Prisons recognised that in certain areas prisons will not be able to comply with all of his recommendations in the short term. As long as there is overcrowding and limitations on resources there will be difficulties in achieving full implementation.

As the Deputy will appreciate the Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts into its custody and does not have the option of refusing committals. There has been a consistent increase in the total prisoner population in Ireland over recent years, with dramatic increases in the number of sentenced prisoners, those being committed on remand and a trend towards longer sentences. The problem of prison overcrowding therefore remains a challenging issue which unfortunately cannot be resolved overnight.

I share the view of the Thornton Hall Review Group that decisive action is required on a number of fronts in order to address the problem of overcrowding and poor physical conditions particularly in Mountjoy and Cork Prisons. Whilst the reduced capital envelope this year will not allow the Prison Service to proceed with the construction of the Thornton Hall or Kilworth prisons, this does not signal a reversal of the Government's decision earlier this year to approve in principle the recommendations contained in the Thornton Hall Review Group Report. It has been necessary to defer the commencement of these projects but the Deputy can be assured that it is my strong intention to revisit the timeframe for their delivery in 12 months time.