Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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488. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a timeframe on the opening of the new women's prison in Limerick; the reason for the current delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22572/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that the opening of the new standalone female wing of Limerick Prison is an organisational priority for the Irish Prison Service and for my Department. Significant workforce planning is underway to enable the opening as soon as possible.

In order to open the new standalone wing and ensure that the women are safely accommodated there, significant numbers of additional staff are required. These staff will come through a combination of both direct recruitment and transfers from across the Prison estate and these processes take time.

I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that once the resources are in place, the new female wing of Limerick Prison will be opened without delay. The Prison Service expect to be able open Limerick Female Prison this July.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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489. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amount of capital funding being made available for his commitment to build over 400 new prison spaces at Castlerea, Cloverhill, the Midlands and Mountjoy prisons in the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22573/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Prison Service is committed to providing safe, secure and respectful care for all of those committed to custody. As part of fulfilling this commitment, Government continues to invest significantly in the capital development of the prison estate. This includes building new accommodation and investing in the refurbishment of existing facilities. In recent years, works have been completed to modernise the Mountjoy complex, a new prison was constructed in Cork and additional prisoner accommodation was provided in the Midlands Prison.

Last summer, the Training Unit in Mountjoy was reopened, providing an additional 96 spaces. The opening of new male accommodation in Limerick in late 2022 provided an additional 90 cell spaces and a new standalone female prison in Limerick will provide 22 additional female cell spaces when it opens later this year. In total this is in excess of 200 new spaces.

In addition to the investment already made in the prison estate, the Department of Justice and officials in the Irish Prisons Service continue to work together to identify short, medium and longer term proposals to help manage capacity in our prisons.

I also approved a number of measures aimed at reducing capacity pressures in the system. These include broadening the eligibility criteria for the Community Return and the Community Support Schemes; amending criteria for considering Temporary Release; and expediting the Department of Justice's review of sentence remission.

Just recently, I brought a Memo for the Information of Government outlining the capacity issues facing the Irish Prison Service – both in terms of the scale of the problems already faced and the medium and longer-term solutions that might be advanced to address them.

Officials in my Department and the Irish Prisons Service have identified four short-term capital projects that could deliver over 400 prison spaces across the existing prison estate over the next 5 years. This would provide accommodation for a minimum of 620 additional prisoners. Initially I am looking to progress developments at Castlerea and Cloverhill Prisons and while initial costing exercises have been undertaken, funding requirements will be determined on the completion of the detailed design brief. As the Deputy will be aware, the project will proceed subject to the requirements of the public spending code.

In the meantime, let me assure the Deputy that the need to ensure the availability of modern prison facilities with adequate capacity will continue to be the focus of capital planning by my Department and the Irish Prisons Service.

Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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490. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of male prison officers working in Mountjoy Female Prison; the number of male prison officers working in the female wing of Limerick Prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22574/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by my officials in the Irish Prison Service that for security and operational reasons the Irish Prison Service is not in a position to provide a breakdown of the number of staff allocated to individual Prisons.

However, information can be provided on the percentage breakdown of staff by gender across all grades and for the grade of Prison Officer at the Dóchas Centre and across Limerick Prison. This information, as of the 31 March, is as set out in the table below.

The Deputy will wish to note that, unlike the Dóchas Centre, Limerick Prison houses both male and female prisoners. As such, Prison Officers assigned to Limerick Prison work with both male and female prisoners and are not exclusively assigned to the female wing.