Written answers

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Northern Ireland

Photo of Maureen O'SullivanMaureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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358. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has had discussions on the outstanding issues in Maghaberry Prison in County Antrim and the implementation of the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11882/16]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Prison issues in Northern Ireland have featured regularly in my discussions with the former Northern Ireland Minister for Justice, David Ford MLA and, on non-devolved aspects of the prison regime, with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP. I would expect that discussions on prison issues will continue with the incoming Northern Ireland Minister for Justice once appointed.

The murder of prison officer Adrian Ismay in March this year has severely damaged trust in Maghaberry between prison staff and prisoners associated with so called dissident republican groups. As the Deputy will be aware, this relationship was already fragile. I deplore this reprehensible killing. There is no excuse for such criminal activity. My sympathies are with the Ismay family, his friends and his colleagues.

Officials from my Department engage on a regular basis with a range of interlocutors across the devolved and non-devolved prison authorities, the Red Cross, and the independent assessors to discuss, explore and encourage progress on a wide range of issues within Maghaberry Prison. Indeed, a senior official of my Department recently met with the Red Cross in this regard.

The implementation of the Independent Assessment Team recommendations of the Stocktake Report of 2014 remains on the agenda and is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Prison Service. I have met with members of the Independent Assessment Team, as well as other contacts, and my officials continue to keep me fully up to date on developments in the prison. It remains my strong view that the full implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Assessment Team is dependent upon the establishment of a reasonable level of trust between prisoners and prison staff. The murder of Adrian Ismay, and that of David Black in 2012, have undoubtedly set back the prospects for building trust and making progress on the implementation of these recommendations.

The report of November 2015 by the Criminal Justice Inspector, Brendan McGuigan, into conditions at Maghaberry Prison was also deeply concerning. I expressed my concerns at the deficiencies identified in the Report during my previous discussions with former Minister Ford. The inspection report profiled conditions in Maghaberry in May 2015 and it noted that the deficiencies identified affected the entire prison population and staff, not just those in the separated regime.

The Criminal Justice Inspector returned to Maghaberry in January to monitor progress and the initial findings of the inspection team were published in February. The inspection team found that the prison had stabilised and some progress had been made in addressing the concerns raised in the November 2015 report. However, it also noted that the progress made was fragile and a significant amount of work remained to be done to make the prison safer for prisoners and staff. In particular, mental health provision had deteriorated and the level of vulnerability of prisoners had increased since the May 2015 visit.

The inspection team announced its intention to conduct a series of announced, low-impact visits to Maghaberry over the following 18 month period in order to support the prison governors and to oversee the delivery of the inspection recommendations from the November 2015 report. The commitment to regular visits is to ensure that the fragile progress made is strengthened. I welcome the progress made to date and the intention of the Criminal justice Inspector to remain engaged.

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