Sinéad Gibney
Ceist:835. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Justice the steps he is taking to reduce overcrowding in Limerick Women's prison; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3283/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 5 February 2025
Ceisteanna (835)
Freagraí scríofa
The Government has made significant capital funding available to the Irish Prison Service in order to enhance the existing prison infrastructure and to provide additional capacity. The opening of the new standalone female prison in Limerick in 2023 provided an additional 22 female cell spaces. Plans are also being pursued to increase the capacity in the Dóchas Centre in the coming years.
The Irish Prison Service must accept into custody all people committed to prison by the Courts. As such, the Irish Prison Service has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.
Where the number of people in custody exceeds the maximum capacity in any prison, officials in the Irish Prison Service make every effort to deal with this through a combination of inter-prison transfers and structured temporary release. The legislative basis for temporary release is set out in the Criminal Justice Act 1960, as amended by the Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Act 2003. The options for transfer for female prisoners is limited to transfers between two prisons.
A Prison Overcrowding Response Group was established in 2023 to develop proposed actions to address the problem of Irish prisons operating above capacity. The Group comprised representatives from the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, the Probation Service, and the Courts Service. In 2024, the Group presented its report to the Minister and 12 actions were approved for implementation.
Two actions, concerning a new structured temporary release for women and the establishment of a specialised Probation Service response for scaling, have been combined and a pilot scheme has been established targeting women serving custodial sentences of 18 months or less in Limerick’s Women’s Prison. I can assure the Deputy that decisions in relation to temporary release are considered on a case by case basis and the safety of the public is paramount when those decisions are made.
Further, a Working Group was established in the second half of 2024 to further consider future prison capacity needs and to make recommendations on the numbers and types of prison capacity needed out to 2035. The work of this Group will support and inform future developments regarding prison capacity.