Parliamentary Question: Prison Accommodation

27th January 2004

854. Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the overall situation in the prison service regarding over-staffing; and if the facility at Shelton Abbey has been deemed by either his Department or the prison service to be over-staffed regarding the ratio of staff to prisoners kept there. [1259/04]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell):  Shelton Abbey is an open facility designed to accommodate up to 56 prisoners who are categorised as a low security risk. Currently 41 members of staff are serving at Shelton Abbey. Recently, the prisoner numbers have been reduced in preparation for implementation of the proposed transformation of the open centre at Shelton Abbey into a post-release centre for the reintegration into society of prisoners on conditional temporary release. That measure is one of several steps which the Government approved in the event of failure to reach agreement with the Prison Officers' Association on a change agenda aimed at eliminating overtime payments and reducing other costs in the Irish Prison Service. Any anomaly in staffing to prisoner ratios at Shelton Abbey in that context is purely temporary.
Negotiations with the POA on moving that agenda forward are currently under way at the Labour Relations Commission, and it is my clear preference that a mutually advantageous agreement is reached with the Prison Officers' Association which would ensure an efficient and cost-effective Prison Service, including the open centre at Shelton Abbey.