Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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130. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when the Inspector of Prisons vacancy will be filled; the status of reports which were not completed by a person (details supplied) as a result of their unexpected death; if they will be concluded and or published; if not, if they will need to be recommenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41156/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Public Appointment Service (PAS) is currently running a Top Level Appointment Competition to appoint a new Inspector of Prisons. The competition was publicly advertised on 25 August 2017. It is understood from PAS that, following a shortlisting process and preliminary interviews, the final interview process is likely to begin in late October this year.

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is a statutory, independent office established under the Prisons Act 2007. The previous holder of the post, Judge Michael Reilly, died suddenly on 26 November 2016.  Although there is no statutory provision for assigning these powers to any other individual, the Principal Officer in the Inspector of Prison’s office in Nenagh has been the Acting Inspector of Prisons in the meantime.  She was appointed under a warrant signed by the previous Minister. All staff in the prison system were instructed to co-operate with her and she remains independent of the Department and the Irish Prison Service as far as investigations are concerned and the content of any report produced. Further, she was authorised to complete any outstanding reports and submit them to me as Minister for Justice and Equality on a non-statutory basis and these are being published in the normal way. 

Plainly, this arrangement will end when the new Inspector is appointed through the competition described above.