Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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539. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which drug rehabilitation and educational classes are available throughout the prison service, with particular reference to first-time offenders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34344/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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It has not been possible to collate complete information as requested by the Deputy in the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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540. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which an adequate number of prison spaces are being made available, having regard to population demands; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34346/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can advise the Deputy that the Irish Prison Service and my Department are committed to providing safe and secure custody for all people committed to prison while ensuring a safe working environment for staff. Officials in the Irish Prison Service and the Department are continuously working to identify short, medium and longer term proposals to help manage the current capacity issues in our prisons.

As the Deputy will be aware the Irish Prison Service does not have the option of refusing committals and must accept all prisoners committed by the Courts Service. The prison system is under increasing pressure with factors such as ongoing population growth, increasing Garda and Judicial resources, and more frequent Court sittings, all contributing to a rising prison population.

On 6 July 2023 there were 4,728 people in prison, compared to a bed capacity of 4,487. This has led to the need to accommodate prisoners on mattresses. On 6 July 2023, the total number of people in prison custody required to sleep on mattresses on the floor was 210.

Where the number of prisoners exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, my officials make every effort to address the issue through a combination of inter-prison transfers and carefully selecting candidates for Temporary Release.

The Government has provided significant capital funding to the Irish Prison Service to enhance the existing prison infrastructure. These projects have included, adding capacity to the Training Unit in Mountjoy Prison and the commissioning of new male and female prison accommodation in Limerick Prison providing an additional 90 male cell spaces and 22 female cell spaces. The male accommodation is now open.

The opening of the new female wing at Limerick Prison is an organisational priority. In order to ensure the safety of people who will live and work in this new wing a significant number of additional staff is required. These staff will come through a combination of direct recruitment and transfers and this process takes time. The Irish Prison Service is working to install the necessary resources to meet the target to bring the new female wing of Limerick Prison into operation later this month.

In order to alleviate the need for people to sleep on mattresses on the floor, the Irish Prison Service has procured a number of bunk beds. The bunk beds will not reduce overcrowding, but will improve the living and sleeping conditions for people in custody. It is intended to progress installation of these bunk beds over the coming months.

In addition, there are plans for 4 short-term capital projects at Castlerea Prison, Cloverhill Prison, the Midlands Prison and Mountjoy Prison. These will deliver a minimum of 620 additional spaces. The need to ensure the continued availability of modern prison facilities with adequate capacity is a priority for my Department, and I continue to engage with the Minister for Public Expenditure with a view to progressing an agreed schedule of capital builds.

Alongside efforts to increase prison capacity, my Department is progressing a range of policy options to ensure that the courts have a suitably wide range of appropriate options for dealing with people who have committed minor offences.

The Programme for Government contains a broad range of policies and proposals that represent a coherent approach to enhancing and sustaining a more just and safe society, with a specific commitment to review policy options for prison and penal reform. In respect of delivering on this commitment, the Government approved the Review of Policy Options for Prison and Penal Reform 2022-2024 in August 2022.

This review seeks to find the balance between ensuring that people who commit serious crimes receive a punishment and a period of incarceration proportionate to that crime, while at the same time acknowledging that sometimes community-based sanctions are more appropriate in diverting offenders away from future criminal activity and that they have a role to play in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and providing protection to the public, while holding the individual accountable.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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541. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons currently in drug rehabilitation programmes in prison; the number of prisoners awaiting access to such programmes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34347/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Prison Service provides a health care service for prisoners with addictions in a structured, safe and professional basis in line with international best practice. The Prison Service continues to be committed to, and involved with, the National Drugs Strategy in partnership with community colleagues and organisations.

It is the policy of the Service that, where a person committed to prison gives a history of opiate use and tests positive for opioids, they are offered a medically assisted, symptomatic detoxification, if clinically indicated.

Patients can, as part of the assessment process, discuss other treatment options with healthcare staff; those treatment options may include stabilisation on methadone maintenance for persons who wish to continue on maintenance while in prison, and when they return to the community on release. I am further advised that while drug treatment services are provided in all closed prisons, the same type of programmes are not offered in open prisons as a condition of transfer to an open prison is that the prisoner is drug free.

In May, 813 prisoners received drug stabilisation or methadone maintenance during the month. There is no waiting list to access the above supports.

I can further advise the Deputy that, the Irish Prison Service engages Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI) to provide a prison-based addiction counselling service across the entire Irish Prison Service estate with the exception of Arbour Hill Prison where there is no clinical need for such a service in that prison. The addiction counselling service includes structured assessments and evidence-based counselling interventions, with clearly-defined treatment plans and goals.

The MQI service provides a range of counselling and intervention skills related to substance misuse and dependency. These skills include, motivational interviewing and enhancement therapy, a twelve step facilitation programme, cognitive behavioural therapy and harm reduction approaches. Prisoners are offered one to one counselling and group work interventions.

In May 2023 MQI completed a total of 1,617 client interventions. This total was made up of 739 counselling sessions, 211 brief interventions, 586 group assessments and 81 assessments.

The Irish Prison Service and MQI prioritise those prisoners that are in greatest clinical need and will work closely as part of a multi-disciplinary team to manage the waiting list with team leaders reviewing caseloads with each counsellor monthly to ensure that cases are closing appropriately.

Prisoners who are closer to release are prioritised and MQI try to identify available services in the community in order that there is continuity of care.

The information requested by the Deputy on the number of prisoners who are currently on waiting lists to access addiction services by prison is provided in the table below.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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542. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons, if any, currently released on bail and awaiting trial in respect of serious offences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34348/23]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy was previously advised, and as I am sure the Deputy appreciates, the restricting of a person’s liberty is a serious issue, given the Constitutional presumption that a person is deemed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

While the State’s bail laws do provide for the refusal of bail in certain circumstances, the presiding Judge is entirely independent in the exercise of their judicial functions and the decision to grant bail in a particular case is solely a matter for the Judge.

As previously conveyed to the Deputy, the Bail Act 1997 followed on foot of the 1996 referendum on a proposed amendment to the Constitution enabling a court to refuse bail for a person charged with a serious offence to prevent the risk of another serious offence being committed while on bail. Since then, the State’s bail laws were further strengthened, specifically by the Criminal Justice Act, 2007, the Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and the Criminal Justice Act, 2017.

In considering whether to refuse bail under the 1997 Act, the Court is required to have regard to persistent serious offending by an applicant, any convictions for offences that were committed while on bail and, in specific circumstances, the nature and likelihood of any danger to a person or to the community from granting bail.

The 2007 Act provides that when a person is admitted to bail, there is a mandatory condition that the accused not commit an offence while on bail. The commission of an offence while released on bail is an automatic breach of one of the conditions of bail and may result in the issue of a bench warrant for the accused’s arrest.

The 2017 Act provides for stricter bail terms for repeat serious offenders, including the use of curfews and strengthens Garda powers to deal with breaches of bail. If an individual fails to comply with any bail conditions, the Judge will issue a bench warrant and this gives An Garda Síochána power to arrest and bring the person before the Court to answer all charges relating to the bail.

In the event of a breach of High Court bail, the defendant must be brought before the Court as soon as practicable for a revocation hearing. A breach of bail may also result in an additional charge and an order against the defendant and/or their surety for the ‘forfeiture and estreatment’ of the bail money.

It is also important to state that criminal investigations are carried out by An Garda Síochána, who then submit a report to the DPP. The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the agency responsible for the prosecution of crime in Ireland and it is for the DPP to decide whether or not someone should be prosecuted and for what crime. This decision is made on the basis of the Garda findings, viewed against the background of common and/or statute law. The Director is fully independent in the performance of her functions.

Furthermore, as the Deputy will be aware, the provision of figures in relation to convictions are a matter for the Courts Service. Management of the courts, operational and logistical matters are the responsibility of the Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. As the Deputy will be aware, I have no role in this regard. However, I am advised by the Court Service that it is not possible to provide the Deputy with the information sought.