Prison Service

Wednesday, 3 July 2024

Questions (140)

Patrick Costello

Question:

140. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Justice the number of death-in-custody reports that have been submitted by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons to her in each on the past three years, broken down by prison; and the number from each year that still await publication. [28537/24]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Justice

As the Deputy is aware, the Inspector of Prisons, established under the Prisons Act 2007, is independent in how he carries out his functions. One of those functions is to investigate all Deaths in Custody and deaths that occur within one month of temporary release from Prison.

The objective for investigation of deaths in custody is to establish the circumstances and events surrounding the death, including the care provided by the Irish Prison Service, and to make recommendations for improvements where needed. It also provides an opportunity for the concerns of families to be considered.

Below are the final reports into deaths in custody which have been received from the IoP from 1 January 2021 to present.

Year report sent by IoP to DoJ	Name given to the deceased for the purposes of the report*	Prison that had custody of the deceased at time of death**	Publication date
2021	Mr A 2019	Midlands	31/01/2022
2021	Mr C 2019	Mountjoy	16/04/2021
2021	Mr D 2018	Wheatfield	08/03/2021
2021	Mr D 2019	Wheatfield	17/11/2021
2021	Mr F 2018	Cork	21/10/2021
2021	Mr F 2020	Castlerea	25/02/2022
2021	Mr G 2019	Portlaoise	12/02/2021
2021	Mr H 2019	Cork	04/02/2022
2021	Mr H 2020	Portlaoise	25/02/2022
2021	Mr I 2019	Limerick	04/02/2022
2021	Mr J 2019	Arbour Hill	22/04/2021
2021	Mr K 2019	Midlands	16/04/2021
2021	Mr L 2018	Cork	16/04/2021
2021	Mr L 2019	Mountjoy	21/01/2022
2021	Mr N 2019	Midlands	22/04/2021
2021	Mr Q 2019	Cloverhill	21/01/2022
2021	Mr T 2019	Midlands	25/02/2022
2021	Ms O 2019	Dóchas Centre	21/10/2021
2022	Mr A 2020	Cork	30/06/2022
2022	Mr B 2019	Midlands	21/09/2022
2022	Mr B 2020	Arbour Hill	21/09/2022
2022	Mr D 2020	Mountjoy	22/09/2022
2022	Mr E 2020	Arbour Hill	23/02/2023
2022	Mr F 2021	Midlands	01/07/2022
2022	Mr G 2020	Castlerea	24/02/2023
2022	Mr I 2022	Midlands	21/09/2022
2022	Mr M 2019	Wheatfield	28/09/2022
2022	Ms S 2019	Dóchas Centre	29/06/2022
2022	Ms X 2019	Dóchas Centre	10/11/2022
2023	Mr R 2019	Cloverhill	21/02/2023
2023	Mr K 2020	Cork	30/01/2023
2023	Mr C 2022	Cork	30/05/2023
2023	Mr X 2021	Criminal Courts of Justice	02/02/2024
2023	Mr G 2021	Cork	26/01/2024
2023	Mr U 2022	Wheatfield	Report under review (final version received 25/6/24); Publication date will be agreed with the Inspector of Prisons
2023	Mr G 2022	Midlands	24/01/2024
2024	Mr C 2020	Wheatfield	Report under review (final version received 25/6/24); Publication date will be agreed with the Inspector of Prisons
2024	Mr C 2021	Cloverhill	Report under review in my Department; publication date will be agreed with the Inspector of Prisons
2024	Mr E 2021	Cloverhill	Report under review in my Department; publication date will be agreed with the Inspector of Prisons
2024	Mr H 2021	Midlands	Report under review in my Department; publication date will be agreed with the Inspector of Prisons
2024	Mr H 2023	Cork	25/04/2024
2024	Mr I 2020	Limerick	31/05/2024
2024	Mr K 2022	Midlands	Report under review in my Department; publication date will be agreed with the Inspector of Prisons
2024	Mr K 2024	Cork	Report under review in my Department; publication date will be agreed with the Inspector of Prisons

*All Death in Custody reports are anonymised.

**Not necessarily location of death. A number of deaths in custody take place in hospital and hospice settings, and while prisoners are on temporary release (TR).