Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 March 2026
367. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of reports received from the Office of Inspector Prisons since 2020; the date report was received by the Minister; the date the report was published by the Minister; and for any reports not yet published the reason the report was not published, in tabular form. [23237/26]
View answerThe Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) was established under the Prisons Act 2007 and is independent in how it carries out its functions.
The role of the Inspector of Prisons is to carry out regular inspections of prisons. As part of this work, the Inspector of Prisons carries out inspections comprising General Inspections and Thematic Inspections (ie. inspection of a specific operational area across the whole prison estate).
In addition, all deaths in custody and deaths that occur within one month of temporary release are subject to an independent investigation by the Inspector of Prisons.
Inspector of Prisons reports are published on the OIP website following review by my Department. Submission dates to the Department and publication dates are also provided. These publications which include the period requested, can be accessed at: https://www.oip.ie/publications/.
The tables below set out information related to reports received by my Department from the Inspector of Prisons which are yet to be published, and the status of those reports.
Death in Custody reports received by the Minister
|
Date Received |
Report |
Status |
|
25/10/2024 |
Mr J 2022 |
Reports are being prepared for publication following receipt of relevant legal advice. |
|
18/07/2025 |
Mr A 2022 |
Reports are being prepared for publication following receipt of relevant legal advice. |
|
22/12/2025 |
Mr D 2021 |
Reports are being prepared for publication following receipt of relevant legal advice. |
Section 31(2) Reports
|
Date received |
Report |
Status |
|
February 2022 |
Section 31(2) report on the Dóchas Centre - Report arising from an Inspector of Prisons Investigation, pursuant to Section 31(2) of the Prisons Act 2007. |
Legal advice received from the Attorney General’s Office is under consideration. |
|
July 2022 |
Review arising from the foregoing report – Initial assessment of material gathered by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons during the course of a Section 31(2) investigation in the Dóchas Centre and from other relevant reports. |
Legal advice received from the Attorney General’s Office is under consideration. |
