Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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484. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will provide details of the work and training services available to persons of 18,19 and 20 years of age in Wheatfield place of detention; the way they differ from those available to persons 21 years of age and over in Wheatfield place of detention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29188/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Irish Prison Service that in Wheatfield Place of Detention the following work training activities are available to all prisoners aged 18 years and over - laundry, catering, horticulture or gardening, industrial cleaning, construction, print, joinery/woodwork, metalwork, computers, painting/decorating, embroidery, hurley repairs and picture framing. All prisoners aged 18 years and over at Wheatfield Place of Detention enjoy the same level of access to these activities as listed. No distinctions or special arrangements apply in terms of prisoners aged 18 to 20 years.

I can inform the Deputy that in May 2015, the latest month for which figures are available for prisoner participation in work and training (accredited and non-accredited), 21.54% of the prisoner population in Wheatfield Place of Detention attended workshop sessions with an average attendance per session of 139 prisoners. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of attendance by age to the Deputy as this would require the manual examination of records. Such an examination would require a disproportionate and inordinate amount of staff time and effort and could not be justified in current circumstances where there are other significant demands on resources.

The development of prisoner programmes forms a central part of the Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015. There is a clear commitment in the Strategy to enhance sentence planning including Integrated Sentence Management and the delivery of prison based rehabilitative programmes such as education, work training and resettlement programmes. In order to achieve this objective the Irish Prison Service has been expanding the number of accredited courses and opportunities available to prisoners in Work Training in recent years. Enhanced partnership arrangements with accrediting bodies such as City and Guilds, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), and the Guild of Launders and Cleaners and the centralising of coordination and quality assurance arrangements have enabled us to extend the number of available courses and activities with certification.

Prisoners involved in work and training activities may do so with a view to gaining accreditation in a particular area or in order to keep busy during their sentence. Engagement in vocational training can have added benefits in the form of boosting self-confidence, imparting useful practical skills and improving social skills.