THE DÁIL is to sit until late July to ensure the passage of new legislation aimed at tackling record numbers of prisoners in the State’s jails, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has said.
As of this week there were almost 800 prisoners on temporary release with a further 4,495 in custody, a situation which the Prison Officers Association (POA) has said contributes to an environment of bullying and drug use and where “prisoner rehabilitation is virtually impossible”.
Revealing the most up-to-date numbers on prisoners in the Republic’s jails at the association’s conference yesterday, Mr Shatter acknowledged the number of prisoners on temporary release was “simply too high and unacceptable” and that “increasing those numbers to deal with overcrowding is not the solution”.
But while he did not believe temporary release was appropriate to long-term prisoners, he said some 13 per cent of prisoners, or more than 600, were currently serving terms of less than a year. Some 222 of these were serving less than six months.
The Minister said he had been assured by Taoiseach Enda Kenny that the Dáil and Seanad would sit later than usual this year to ensure the passage of the Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) Bill 2011. The Bill, the first published by Mr Shatter as Minister for Justice, imposes an obligation on judges when considering imposing a sentence of less than 12 months, “to first consider the use of community service as an alternative to a custodial sentence”.
In addition the Minister said a new accommodation block at the Midlands Prison will provide for 300 additional spaces by mid-2012 with 70 “dormitory-style” spaces for women prisoners at the Dóchas Centre in Mountjoy due to be completed by July.
Mr Shatter also said July would see the report of the working group set up to consider options in relation to the proposed new prison at Thornton Hall in north Co Dublin. Work has begun towards providing in-cell sanitation in 36 cells in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, with a further 74 all expected to be completed this summer.
Next week should see the publication of new measures to tackle white-collar crime “or if not then, the week after”, he said. The Irish Youth Justice Service will take responsibility for the detention of 16 and 17 year olds when its new facilities at Lusk, Co Dublin, become available and legislation was also being prepared to transfer responsibility for the detention of children and young people to the Department of Children, under Cabinet colleague Frances Fitzgerald.
However, the president of the Prison Officers’ Association, Stephen Delaney, warned Mr Shatter that previous ministers for justice had “closed Fort Mitchell, the Curragh and Shanganagh Castle – the latter prison being the only open centre for juvenile offenders.
“As a consequence young offenders are now being placed in adult institutions which flies in the face of all expert opinion not to mention the fact that such actions are in direct contravention of the UN Conventionon the Rights of the Child.”
Mr Delaney also criticised the new dormitory-style arrangements for prisoners in the women’s prison at Mountjoy, describing the policy as “stack ’em and rack ’em”.
In relation to prison officers’ pay and conditions, Mr Delaney said “we will not accept any more pay cuts, we will not accept antiquated conditions and we are certainly taking no more excuses or blame for the economic crisis, which we didn’t create”.