Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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75. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress on the review of the prison complaints procedure initiated by the Inspector of Prisons, with particular reference to publishing the number of prison complaints, the number of complaints that were upheld, and how they were resolved. [8729/16]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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76. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to introduce a fully independent prisoner ombudsman to deal with prisoner complaints. [8730/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 and 76 together.

The Inspector of Prisons, who is independent of Government, has carried out a review of the prisoner complaints procedure currently in operation in the Irish Prison Service and has made a number of recommendations, including one relating to a possible role for an Ombudsman. My officials and I are currently examining those recommendations

The current prisoner complaints system was introduced in the Irish Prison Service in November 2012 based on a model recommended by the Inspector of Prisons who has independent oversight of the process. The intention was to have robust procedures in place which would give prisoners access to a credible complaints system that deals with genuine complaints in an open, transparent and independent way.

The system is categorised depending on the nature of the complaint. Category A complaints concern the most serious level of complaint (assault, serious intimidation by staff etc.). Category B complaints include allegations of discrimination, verbal abuse by officers and inappropriate searches. Category C complaints are essentially service complaints where a prisoner is unhappy with the level of service in a particular prison. Category D complaints are those alleging misconduct or mistreatment by professionals providing services to prisoners such as doctors, dentists etc.

In January 2013 the then Minister announced amendments to the Prison Rules to support and give effect to the new procedures for the investigation of prisoner complaints. In the main, the amendments to the Prison Rules provide that prisoner complaints under Category A will be examined by investigators from outside the Prison Service to ensure an effective and impartial investigation. The complainant was to be kept informed and the reports by outside investigators are automatically submitted to the Governor in question, the Director General and the Inspector of Prisons. The Inspector has had oversight of the process from the very beginning which was also strengthened by extra resources assigned to his office. A panel of 22 external investigators were recruited and since the introduction of the complaints procedure in November 2012 to date there have been 348 Category A complaints received under the new system.

In addition, there are fourteen Prison Visiting Committees in existence - one for each institution. The function of Visiting Committees is to visit the prison to which they are appointed and hear any complaints which may be made to them by any prisoner. The Committees play a vital role in ensuring the quality of accommodation and catering, medical, educational and welfare services and recreational facilities.

Below are tables showing details of Category A complaints made in the period from November, 2012 - when the new comprehensive prisoner complaints system was introduced - to date. Tables 3 and 4 show for the period November 2012 to 2015 the type of complaints made, the outcomes of the complaints procedures and the number of complaints by prison. Tables 1 and 2 provide this data for 2016 to date. Overall, for the period November 2012 to date, 384 Category A complaints have been received. Of these, 18 were upheld, 249 were not upheld, 1 was not proved, 23 were terminated under section 57B(5)(C) of the Prison Rules, 2007 and 57 are currently incomplete.

Rule 57B (5)(c) of the Prison Rules 2007 provides that "If the complaint is withdrawn, the Governor, or the Designated Officer where the Governor is the subject of the complaint, shall inquire as to why the complaint was withdrawn, document the reasons given and forward a report to the Director General. If there is any evidence of any threat or inducement for the complainant to withdraw the complaint, the initiation of disciplinary proceedings shall be considered. On receipt of the Governor's or the Designated Officer's report, the Director General may decide that the investigation should be terminated (and if so document the reasons for doing so and advise the Inspector of Prisons) or direct that the investigative process should continue."

Table 1: Category A Complaints received by prison 2016

Table 2: Outcome of Category A Complaints received 2016

Table 3: Category A Complaints received by prison 2012-2015

Table 4: Outcome of Category A Complaints received 2012-2015