Thurles Information

The year 2021 was the first year in which prison inspections were carried out in accordance with the new ‘Inspection Framework for Prisons in Ireland’, published by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons in 2020.

In response to the pandemic, and the need to monitor the situation within prisons for both prisoners and staff; the Inspector suspended her general inspection programme in 2021 and embarked on a COVID-19 focused inspection schedule, designed to provide a human rights-based assessment of the response of the Prison Service to the pandemic, with all 12 Irish prisons inspected in 2021.

Welcoming the report, Minister Mrs Helen McEntee TD said, “The Inspector’s Annual Report for 2021 sets out the excellent work which was achieved during the year in maintaining necessary oversight of Ireland’s prisons.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected plans for in-depth inspections of individual prisons. Instead the Inspector carried out an overall inspection across all prisons of the Prison Service’s response to the pandemic. The Inspector of Prisons’ reports of these inspections recognised the good work done by the Prison Service during the pandemic and pointed to ways the response could be improved.

The Prison Service’s constructive engagement with these issues and the resulting adaptation of their approach to COVID-19 is evidence of the benefit of strong independent oversight and its value to our prisons”.

The Inspector embarked on an inspection of all prisons in Ireland in 2021. These inspections, whilst short in duration due to the situation with COVID-19, examined the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons across the Framework focus areas which are:-

• Safety and Security
• Respect and Dignity
• Health and Wellbeing
• Rehabilitation and Development
• Resettlement

The Inspectorate also developed a COVID-19 staff survey, to assess the experience of prison staff working in prisons in 2021, and engaged in ongoing discussion with prison management and the Prison Service to provide robust inspections of all prisons in Ireland. The inspection reports, and the COVID-19 Staff Survey report, have all been published and can be found on the websites of the Department of Justice and the Inspector of Prisons.

Another key aspect of the Inspector of Prisons role is the carrying out of independent investigations, at the Minister’s request, into all deaths in custody. In relation to ‘Death in Custody’ investigations, the Office of the Inspector of Prisons submitted 18 reports to the Minister in 2021, reducing its investigation backlog by 66.7%.

The Minister continued, “Oversight and evaluation are very important elements in developing and improving our penal system and the work of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons is an essential aspect of monitoring the situation in our prisons. Their work is a key component in identifying ways we can do things better”.

In the Annual Report, the Inspector of Prisons notes some concerns in relation to the delay in the ratification of the Optional Protocol of the UN Convention Against Torture (OPCAT).
Significant progress has been made in addressing these concerns over the course of 2022 – the General Scheme of the Inspection of Places of Detention Bill, which was approved by Government in June 2022, has now been published. The Minister’s objective is to have the final Bill published as soon as possible, so that it may proceed to enactment without undue delay, and allow for ratification of OPCAT in 2023.

The Inspector also noted concerns regarding the prisoner complaints system. Work is underway on drafting new Prison Rules and on preparation for the establishment of a new complaints system within the Irish Prison Service. While implementation has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, significant preparatory work for the introduction of the new system has been advanced, including staff training, the development of an integrated IT system to support case handling and a draft policy for complaints handling. Engagement is ongoing with the Office of Parliamentary Council with a view to completing work on the required Statutory Instrument, and with relevant stakeholders, including the Office of the Ombudsman in preparation for its future operation.

The Minister concluded by saying, “I want to finish by welcoming Mr Mark Kelly, our new Inspector of Prisons. I am sure his wealth of experience will be a great asset, as he undertakes this important role. I would also like to thank former Inspector of Prisons Ms Patricia Gilheaney, latter who retired in February of this year and Mr Mark Toland who served as interim Inspector, pending the appointment of the new Inspector of Prisons”.

The new Inspector of Prisons, Mr Mark Kelly added, “This annual report is testament to the resilience of the Inspectorate’s team, which inspected every prison in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are actively monitoring the implementation of the recommendations in those inspection reports. I fully endorse my predecessor’s comments about the need for a root and branch review of the prisoner complaints system and swift ratification of the OPCAT. I am encouraged by the attention being given by the Minister to these concerns”.

The Report is available in English to read HERE, and in Irish to read HERE:

Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee visits new expansion of Limerick Prison, while announcing publication of the Irish Prison Service Annual Report for 2021.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD has today visited Limerick Prison, to review its major expansion project, which is nearing completion, and has also published the 2021 Annual Report of the Irish Prison Service.

This expansion to Limerick prison will provide a new accommodation block for male prisoners and a new standalone female prison.

The opening of new male accommodation in Limerick in late 2022, will result in an additional 90 prisoner cell spaces being made available and the completion of the new standalone female prison will provide accommodation for a minimum of 22 additional prisoners.

The Minister was accompanied by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service and took the opportunity to speak with management and staff of Limerick Prison.

Speaking during her visit, the Minister praised the Irish Prison Service for its work: “These works are clear evidence of the Government’s continued investment in the capital development of the prison estate to ensure we have adequate capacity in our prisons.
I am hugely impressed by the new facility here in Limerick Prison which demonstrates the Irish Prison Service’s commitment to the provision of safe and secure custody in facilities that are designed to support prisoner rehabilitation.”

The Irish Prison Service committed in its strategic plan to the elimination of the practice referred colloquially as ‘slopping out’, through the provision of in cell sanitation in the older parts of the prison estate, where that practice remains.

Completion of these works is another step to achieving this essential goal and will end the practice of slopping out at Limerick Prison.

The Minister also noted the highly innovative accommodation which is built specifically for the needs of women.

The Minister said: “It is important that our prisons cater for the specific needs of women. This new facility has been carefully designed to meet these needs and will help the women prisoners there to address the factors that led to their offending and provide them with opportunities for a better life post imprisonment”.

Irish Prison Service Annual Report

On Irish Prison Service Annual Report, the Minister noted the prison system is now returning to more normal activity, following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Irish Prison Service Annual Report notes the reduced committals to prison as a direct result of the impact of the pandemic. While this allowed the Irish Prison Service to keep prison numbers at a manageable level to support infection control in 2020 and 2021, 2022 has seen a sustained increase in prisoner numbers being experienced across the system.
We are expanding capacity, not just here in Limerick but also with the additional spaces that have already been provided by the reopening of the Training Unit in Mountjoy Prison as a facility for older prisoners earlier this summer.
I know that the need to ensure the continued availability of modern prison facilities with adequate capacity will be central to the development of the new Irish Prison Service Capital Strategy 2023″.

The Minister added: “Considerable progress has been made on the Programme for Government commitment to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of those imprisoned, and primary care support on release.
I met recently with the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, and Ministers of State Frank Feighan and Mary Butler to discuss the work of the High Level Taskforce to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of persons interacting with the criminal justice system.
I look forward to bringing it to Government very soon”.

Minister McEntee also again took the opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of the Prison Service staff, in keeping those in custody, safe during the pandemic.

The Minister congratulated the Service on winning a Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Award in 2021 for “Leading Reform During COVID-19″, which was recognition of the efforts made by staff across the organisation to maintain the provision of essential services in the most challenging environment”.

The Minister said, “I would like to congratulate the Irish Prison Service for their notable success in the management of Covid-19 in our prisons and their continued protection of vulnerable people in a very challenging environment. Their service during the pandemic was an outstanding example of public effort, at its finest”.

The Minister also noted that the Irish Prison Service continued to implement its strategic objectives while managing the prison system throughout the pandemic and had, in most cases, met the Output Targets agreed with the Department of Justice including the advancement of the Limerick Prison construction project, the management of prison numbers, and the continued provision of essential prisoner services such as Psychology, Education, Work and Training and Drug Treatment.

A copy of the Irish Prison Service’s Annual Report for 2021 is available HERE.

(Note: Detailed information on the delivery of Output Targets is set out in Pages 11 – 13 and in the chapter on Strategic Objectives Pages 46 – 63.)