Written answers
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Department of Justice and Equality
Prisoner Data
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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545. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of prisoners currently on protection in each institution; the number on protection in each institution on this day last month; the number on protection in each institution on this day the month before last and so on for a period of six months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36293/13]
Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that the table below outlines the number of prisoners on protection in each prison/institution on the last day of each of the past six months:
Total number of Protection Prisoners on the last day of each month- June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 Mountjoy Male 110 116 114 115 112 109 Mountjoy Female 0 0 0 0 0 0 St. Patrick's Institution 18 44 43 37 47 46 Cork 30 30 53 55 54 50 Limerick Male 49 45 66 43 55 60 Limerick Female 0 0 0 0 0 0 Castlerea 51 59 56 56 53 61 Cloverhill 112 115 120 107 123 132 Wheatfield 74 87 80 83 90 91 Portlaoise 6 5 6 3 4 5 Arbour Hill 0 0 0 0 0 0 Midlands 158 147 136 130 301 286 Training Unit 0 0 0 0 0 0 Loughan House 0 0 0 0 0 0 Shelton Abbey 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 608 648 674 629 839 840
As you are aware protection prisoners are those who are considered to be under threat or at risk in the general population. This does not necessarily mean that such a prisoner is subject to a restrictive regime. This may arise as a result of a request from the prisoner or after consideration by prison management. As you can see from the table there were 608 prisoners on protection throughout the prison system on 30 June 2013 whereas at the end of January of this year there were 840 such prisoners. Many prisoners on protection can associate with other protection prisoners and have normal out of cell time during the day.
The number of prisoners on protection is regarded by the Irish Prison Service as an indicator of the steps taken in individual prisons, to ensure in so far as possible the safety of the offenders. The fact that prisoners seeking protection are immediately separated from the general prison population or from specific prisoners identified as presenting a threat, clearly demonstrates prison management’s commitment to ensuring their safety and security.
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