Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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92. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who have died while in the custody of the Irish Prison Service in each of the years 2011 to 2016 to date, including the cause of death; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12510/16]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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93. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the system in place for monitoring suicidal or vulnerable prisoners in the custody of the Irish Prison Service. [12511/16]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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95. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons who have taken their own lives while in prison in each of the years 2009 to 2016 to date. [12513/16]

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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98. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the details of each suicide prevention group in operation within each prison in the Irish Prison Service. [12516/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 92, 93, 95 and 98 together.

All deaths in custody are the subject of a Garda investigation and an inquest held in the Coroner's Court. The cause of death is determined by a jury on the basis of the information presented to the Coroner’s Court.

The Irish Prison Service has confirmed that there were 3 deaths determined as being death by suicide in 2009, and 3 deaths determined as death by suicide in 2010.

The Irish Prison Service has also advised that the numbers of persons who died in its custody in the period from 2011 to date is 43. There are a number of inquests pending and the cause of death is therefore not available in all cases. The Irish Prison Service has confirmed the following:

- There were 6 deaths in custody in 2011, 1 was determined as being a death by suicide, 4 as death by misadventure, and 1 was a narrative verdict in accordance with the medical evidence given to the Coroners Court.

- There were 5 deaths in custody in 2012, 2 were determined as being death by suicide, 1 as being a death by misadventure, 1 was an open verdict, and 1 inquest is pending.

- There were 9 deaths in custody in 2013, 2 were determined as being a death by suicide, 1 as a death by misadventure, 2 from natural causes, 1 was an open verdict, and 3 inquests are pending.

- There were 8 deaths in custody in 2014, 2 were determined as being a death by suicide, 1 as a death by misadventure, 1 was from natural causes, 1 was an open verdict, 1 was a narrative verdict in accordance with the medical evidence given to the Coroners Court, and 2 inquests are pending.

- There were 14 deaths in custody in 2015, of which 1 has been determined as an open verdict, and 13 inquests are pending.

- There has been one death in custody to date in 2016, this inquest is still pending.

The circumstances of each death in custody and incident of self-harm are examined by a suicide prevention group in each institution. The groups are chaired by the Prison Governor, and include representatives from the various services, including the Prison Doctor, Psychiatry, Psychology, Chaplaincy, Probation, Education, and Prison staff. The Groups are required to meet quarterly, or more often if necessary. Their examinations fully cover the background and circumstances of each death. Their objective is to identify, where possible, measures which might be implemented to contribute to a reduction in the risk of deaths in the future. In addition, the National Suicide and Harm Prevention Steering Group chaired by the Director General, Irish Prison Service, provides a forum for collating the reports of the local Suicide Prevention Committees and disseminating significant findings throughout the prison system.

The Irish Prison Service has also advised that a comprehensive training programme in Mental Health Awareness is being delivered to all staff within the prison service to deal with persons in custody who present with mental health difficulties.

All prisoners on committal to prison, receive a comprehensive health assessment which includes a risk assessment for mental health issues. Management interventions to ensure the prisoners safety including recommendations on accommodation within the prison, observation levels to be conducted on the prisoner, increased healthcare inputs, and any other specific measures that may be appropriate are implemented to reduce the risk in individual cases. In such cases, further assessments are undertaken by the in-reach mental health services, and a multi-agency approach to deal with prisoners needs. Where appropriate, prisoners are kept under review by both the local healthcare team and the in-reach mental health specialists, and are reviewed at a weekly multi-agency meeting.