Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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900. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the progress she has made in relation to the establishment of the proposed role of the Ombudsman in prisoner complaints; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27806/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that work to draft amendments to the statutory instrument that sets out the rules for the prisoner complaints system operated by the Irish Prison Service (S.I. No. 252/2007 - Prison Rules, 2007) is underway in my Department.

The proposals provide a role for the Ombudsman in the Prison Complaints system. Following consultation with the Ombudsman, it was agreed that the new complaints system will be established and allowed to bed down before finalising the provisions for the Ombudsman’s role. This is in order to allow for learnings from the implementation of the amended Prison Complaints system to be taken into account in the new role. Consequently, the required amendments will be taken forward through two separate statutory instruments.

The Department has been working closely with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to progress the amendments since November of 2020, however, progress has been intermittent due to a number of factors, including the impact of the pandemic and priority legislation taking precedence.

Drafting of the amendments is now at an advanced stage and it is anticipated that this work can be completed in the coming months.