James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 120 and 121 together.

As the Deputy is aware, Ireland does not ratify a convention until the necessary legislation is in place to give full effect to it. The enactment of the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill will enable Ireland to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

The Bill will provide for two principal objectives:

• To strengthen and update the limited statutory basis in place for the Inspector of Prisons in the Prisons Act 2007; and
• To provide for the Inspectorate to become a National Preventive Mechanism, or NPM, with the power to carry out inspections of all Justice Sector places of detention. The Inspectorate will be part of a system of inspections by NPMs and international bodies to be established in the State. This will allow for the ratification of the OPCAT.

The General Scheme of the Inspection of Place of Detention Bill was subject to Pre-Legislative Scrutiny by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and their report was published on 8th March 2023. The recommendations contained in that report have informed the development of the Bill.

Since the General Scheme was published, the Department has consulted with the Inspector of Prisons, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Irish Penal Reform Trust and international experts on OPCAT to inform any changes necessary to further reinforce the functional independence of the NPM and overall compliance with the OPCAT.

Officials within my Department are working with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel to draft the Bill with a view to publishing it as soon as possible. Once the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill is enacted, the State will then be in a position to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.