Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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727. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with the authorities in Northern Ireland on the implementation of the Stocktake report in Maghaberry Prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28423/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Prison issues in Northern Ireland, in particular those which affect prisoners in separated accommodation, regularly feature in my discussions with Northern Ireland Minister for Justice, David Ford MLA, and, on non-devolved matters, with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP. In my contacts, I emphasise the importance of building trust between separated prisoners and prison management in Maghaberry Prison, significantly damaged by the 2012 murder of prison officer David Black. The way forward will be through the implementation of the recommendations of the September 2014 Stocktake Report of the Independent Assessment Team, which reviewed progress in implementing the August 2010 Maghaberry Prison Agreement.

Both the NI Prison Service and prisoners are agreed on the importance of implementing the Stocktake Report. The appointment of a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross as the new, independent, chair of the Prison Forum should assist progress in this regard, which to date has not moved as quickly as one would wish. It is my understanding that representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross have been actively consulting with all parties to the Prison Forum over recent weeks, including republican and loyalist prisoners as well as prison management, to agree working methods.

Strip searching, controlled movement, and detention in the Care and Supervision Unit (CSU) of Maghaberry Prison continue as points of difference and tension between prisoners and prison management. Balances are required to be found between vindicating the rights of prisoners in very restrictive imprisonment with the duty on management to ensure an environment where the health and safety of staff and inmates are protected. There are differences in emphasis between management and prisoners in where that balance lies, complicated by the differing responsibilities of the Department of Justice and the Northern Ireland Office on these matters.

The effective address of strip searching, controlled movement, and the vindication of the rights of those in the CSU features in my regular discussions with Minister Ford and Secretary of State Villiers. In addition, my officials actively follow-up with the relevant Departments, with the NI Prison Service, and with the Prisoner Ombudsman on these and other matters. I am aware also that the independent chair of the Prison Forum is seized of the importance of these issues.