Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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76. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason there has not been a publication of a general prison inspection report of an operational prison since 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35908/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is a statutory body, independent in how it carries out its work, set up under the Prisons Act 2007.

The Inspector's key role is to carry out regular inspections of prisons and the Inspector plays a vital role in ensuring effective independent oversight of our prison system. The Inspectorate also has responsibility for investigating deaths of prisoners in the custody of the Irish Prison Service.

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons has developed 'An Inspection Framework for the Inspection of Prisons in Ireland' which was launched on 15 September 2020. It sets out how the Inspectorate will conduct inspections of prisons in Ireland and is informed by the statutory underpinning of the Inspector in legislation, national legislation relating to prisons and prisoners’ rights, and international obligations owing to prisoners. Under this Framework, the Inspector will engage with and survey both prisoners and prison staff to gather information on prison conditions and prisoner welfare.

Following this, the Inspector embarked on an inspection of all prisons in Ireland in 2021. These inspections, while short in duration due to the situation with COVID-19, examined the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons across the Framework focus areas which are -

- Safety and Security;

- Respect and Dignity;

- Health and Wellbeing;

- Rehabilitation and Development;

- Resettlement.

The Inspectorate also developed a COVID-19 staff survey to assess the experience of prison staff working in prisons in 2021, and engaged in ongoing discussion with prison management and the Prison Service to provide robust inspections of all prisons in Ireland. These inspections resulted in twelve inspection reports which, when taken together, provide a general inspection account of the prison estate during the COVID-19 pandemic. These inspection reports, and the COVID-19 Staff Survey report, have all been published and can be found on the websites of the Inspector of Prisons and my Department.

I am advised that the Office of the Inspector of Prisons will conduct two general inspections of Irish Prisons in 2022 and one thematic inspection of a high-risk area. The Office of the Inspector of Prisons will also conduct a Strategic Threat and Risk Assessment Process in Q4 2022. This process will determine the inspection programme for 2023.