Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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82. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality when she will publish the strategies for older prisoners, young prisoners, sex offenders and prisoners requiring protection; when these strategies and the joint strategy for women prisoners will be operational in each prison; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17016/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy the Irish Prison Service published its three year strategic plan 2012-2015 on 30 April 2012. Appended to this document were the Irish Prison Service's strategy for the management of older prisoners, the strategy for the management of young offenders and women offenders, the strategy for reducing re-offending by sex offenders, and the strategy for the management of prisoners requiring protection.

The implementation of the actions contained in the individual strategies is ongoing at prison level.

I can further advice the Deputy that in regard to younger persons, since December 2013 all boys aged 17 years sentenced to detention in St. Patrick’s have been transferred to dedicated units in Wheatfield Place of Detention. The Irish Prison Service continues to engage extensively with the Irish Youth Justice Service regarding the transfer of responsibility for 17 year olds to Oberstown Campus in line with the Government decision to close St. Patrick’s Institution. The Prisons Act 2015 was passed by the Oireachtas in December 2015 and is a significant step toward the closing of St. Patrick’s Institution.

In relation to older persons, having cognisance of the particular needs of older people in custody all prisoners over 55 years of age now have an active nursing care plan, in which their specific needs have been identified. This care planning process assists healthcare staff in identifying patient specific issues and arranging effective through-care on release. A survey of older prisoners has been completed and the results are currently under consideration. A Policy on the management of Older Prisoners is also currently in development.

A joint Irish Prison Psychology Service/Probation Service National Programme of Excellence is in operation between the Midlands and Arbour Hill prisons, targeting treatment efforts at moderate to high risk offenders convicted of sexual violence. This is managed by a multi-disciplinary oversight group between both prisons, chaired by the Director of Care and Rehabilitation.

Regular meetings of the Solitary Confinement Group, chaired by the Director General are held to bring about a reduction in the of prisoners on 23 hour lock up and to introduce measures to reduce the number of prisoners held on restricted regime. Since the introduction of the Irish Prison Service Solitary Confinement Group the number of prisoners on 22/23 hour lock up has decreased by 126 or from 211 to 85 in April 2015. An internal committee has been established to examine the area of protection in a wider context, aiming to reduce the number of prisoners seeking protection and to increase access to regimes.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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83. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if the women in prison strategy published in March 2014 has been unsuccessful (details supplied); her plans to address the level of overcrowding and the continual increase in the number of women being committed to prison each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17017/16]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Irish Prison Service must accept all persons committed by the courts and does not have the option of refusing committals.

I wish to advise the Deputy that the joint Probation Service/Irish Prison Service Women's Strategy 2014 - 2016, "An Effective Response to Women Who Offend" is ongoing and will be reviewed at the end of its term. The Women’s Strategy sets out how the Irish Prison Service and the Probation Service work together, as well as with other statutory, community and voluntary sector partners, to provide women-focused interventions to help reduce offending, improve opportunities for reintegration and to improve outcomes more generally.

As part of the Joint Strategy, the Irish Prison Service made a commitment to explore the development of an open centre/open conditions for women assessed as low risk of re-offending. This commitment was acknowledged in the Report on the Strategic Review of Penal Policy who also recommended that a greater focus on step down facilities, supported accommodation, use of more community based open conditions for female offenders and the provision of an open centre for women.

A joint Irish Prison Service/Probation Service working group considered an open centre for women and decided to recommend, rather than developing an open centre for women, that a more practical and cost effective way to address the deficit is to pursue step down facilities for women. In this regard, I have given approval to the Heads of the Irish Prison Service and Probation Service to proceed to scope the possibilities for the development of step down units for female offenders and female ex-offenders.

Alternatives to custody continue to be pursued and legislation has already been passed. This includes the Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Act 2011 which requires the sentencing judge to consider the imposition of community service where a custodial sentence of 12 months or less is being considered.

Also the Fines (Payment and Recovery) Act 2014 provides that the Court imposing a fine shall take into account a person's financial circumstances. It further provides, inter alia, that where a person fails to pay a fine by the due date, the Court may make an attachment order to earnings as a means of recovering the unpaid fine. As a result of this legislation, it is expected that we will see a reduction in the number of committals to prisons on short sentences.

To address the female accommodation within the prison estate, planning is well under way for the modernisation and expansion of facilities in Limerick Prison. Part of this redevelopment includes the provision of high quality prison accommodation for female prisoners with a capacity of approximately 50 individual cells and 8 transition units which will more than double its current capacity.