John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1097. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will confirm his role in the staff recognition programme for the Irish Prison Service; if he will outline the guidelines and or protocols that are used to determine whether the service rendered of a member of the prison staff services merits a recognition award or Stack medal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64002/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that, following significant engagement with stakeholders and other agencies, the Irish Prison Service Staff Recognition Policy came into effect on 1 June 2013 and was updated in 2017. There are various schemes provided under the current version of the policy to recognise (a) length of service, (b) retirements, (c) Merit Awards for Bravery and (d) Excellence and Innovation Awards.

Under the Merit Awards there are three levels of award, depending on the degree of bravery, heroism or merit, beyond the normal expectation of the member of staff and taking account their experience and training. The Merit Awards Scheme operates as a graded system to recognise the range of brave and heroic actions and awards include three levels - the Stack Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Governor's Commendation and they operate as follows - 1. The Stack Medal is presented by the Serving Minister for Justice and is the highest honour than can be bestowed upon a member of staff and is recognition of an act of exceptional personal bravery by the nominee. 2. The Distinguished Service Medal is presented by the Director General and may be awarded for the following actions:I. Prevention of an attempted escape;II. An action that preserved life or prevented serious harm to others;III. Acts that displayed exceptional commitment under duress e.g. riots, volatile situations;IV. Other such significant events that the committee deems appropriate for consideration. 3. Certificate of Special Commendations may be issued where the Staff Recognition Committee consider that a particular deed of a staff member merits official recognition but would not meet the threshold to be awarded the Stack or Distinguished Services Medal. The Certificates of Commendation are presented by the Governor of the Prison.

In 2017, when the Irish Prison Service updated the Staff Recognition Policy, two Stack Medals, 60 Distinguished Services Medals and 90 Governor’s Commendations had been approved. This included nominations for cases that predated the introduction of the policy, as the 2013 Policy did not specify any specific deadline for the submission of applications .

A number of changes were made to the Staff Recognition Policy in 2017 including the introduction of a further element, namely Excellence and Innovation Awards.

In addition, the revised Policy also included the provision that applications for Merit (Bravery) Awards must be received within 12 months of the incident or event occurring. This was to ensure that emphasis and focus was put on contemporary incidents and to ensure that such applications could be adequately scrutinised, including the review of available supporting material.

I can further advise the Deputy that decision on the awards under the Staff Recognition Policy are on foot of recommendations by the Irish Prison Service National Staff Recognition Committee and final approval by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service. The Minister for Justice has no decision making role in this regard.