Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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500. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the status of the introduction and implementation of the new Prison Service complaints policy; and if she will provide a copy of same. [61031/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The critical path for the introduction of the new Prisoner Complaints system includes the drafting of a Statutory Instrument to support a legally sound administrative process and to amend the prison rules.

In that regard, officials in my Department and the Irish Prison Service continue to engage with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel with a view to completing work on the Statutory Instrument which will give legal effect to the new Prisoner Complaints System. They are also continuing to engage with the relevant stakeholders, including the Office of the Ombudsman, with regard to the introduction of the new complaints system and in preparation for its future operation.

In tandem, the Irish Prison Service are reviewing and updating systems and processes to provide for the additional responsibilities required under the new system.

Once the final text of the Statutory Instrument is confirmed, the Irish Prison Service will update the IT system, the Training Manual, the Policy and Staff Guidelines and the Prisoner Information media to support and explain the new procedures and staff training will be undertaken. It is estimated that this work to implement the new regulations will take roughly 16-18 weeks to complete once the text of the Statutory Instrument is confirmed.