Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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287. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of full-body searches carried out in Irish prisons in each of the past five years; the circumstances that arise that cause these searches to be carried out; if such searches are carried out on both female and male prisoners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62965/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Irish Prison Service is responsible for the safe and secure custody of all those committed to prison by the courts. The Irish Prison Service is committed to ensuring that those deprived of their liberty are treated with dignity and respect.

In accordance with Rule 6 of the Prison Rules, 2007, as amended, a full-body search shall be conducted when a prisoner enters or exits a prison or at any time that the Governor considers, upon reasonable grounds, that the carrying out of a full-body search is necessary for:

- Ensuring that a prisoner is not in possession of a prohibited article;

- Confiscating a prohibited article;

- Seizing or retaining anything under Rule 7 (Articles found in search and offences); and/or

- Ensuring safe and secure custody and good government of the prison.

During a full-body search only those Prison Officers conducting the search, or such numbers of Prison Officers required to conduct the search effectively and maintain good order and safe and secure custody, are present. Further all searches should be carried out with due regard to decency, privacy and the dignity of the person being searched and at no stage shall a prisoner be left in a state of complete undress.

The circumstances where a full-body search may occur include:

- On committal, transfer or discharge to/from a prison;

- Prisoner movements through reception for escorts or Temporary Release;

- During a cell search;

- Entering or exiting visits;

- On foot of intelligence received that contraband has been passed to an individual;

- Instances where contraband has been thrown over the prison wall while certain individuals were present in the area.

One of the functions of the Irish Prison Service is to conduct random and intelligence-led searches of prisoners of all genders, cells, vehicles or of any area within the prison in order to detect, deter or prevent the ingress of contraband into Irish prisons. An effective search and detect practice is imperative to reduce the flow of illicit items into prisons. Full-body searching is an important safety measure used in prisons worldwide to aid efforts to limit the flow of contraband into a prison that may cause harm to the person or others. An absence of searching can leave vulnerable people open to coercion to commit additional crimes by trafficking contraband into prisons, for example, to settle debts.

The search training programme ensures that all staff conducting searches within our prisons are trained to do so in a manner that recognises the inherent dignity of the person and their property. All Recruit Prison Officers are trained as part of the Higher Certificate in Arts in Custodial Care to conduct prisoner searches in strict compliance with all provisions of the Prison Rules 2007. This training involves verbal instruction, practical demonstrations, role play, and video demonstration. Staff are taught to conduct personal searches in a manner which respects the dignity and the human rights of every person.

I am advised by the Prison Service that there is no central database where search instances are recorded and full-body searches demarcated from all search types. For this reason it is not currently possible to provide the number of full-body searches conducted.