Parliamentary Question: Prison Staff

3rd June 2004

156. Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he intends to make available to the prison officers' welfare service the policy on bullying agreed between the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health and the Irish Prison Service in 2003; and if his attention has been drawn to concerns that formal complaints of bullying remain uninvestigated and unprocessed more than three months after being made. [17002/04]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell):  Agreement on a policy designed to ensure the protection of Prison Service employees from bullying, harassment and sexual harassment is the subject of ongoing discussions between management and prison staff associations as advised to the Deputy in my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 366 of 18 May 2004. These discussions are expected to conclude shortly at which stage the policy will be made available to the prison officers' welfare service together with all other relevant parties.

I am not aware of any instances where the procedures used to investigate formal complaints of bullying have not been initiated more than three months after the original complaint came to attention. On occasion, however, circumstances may arise where it is not always possible to process such complaints within the timeframe contained in the draft policy, for example, when one of the parties involved is on prolonged sick leave.