Parliamentary Question: Rehabilitation Programmes

13th February 2001

244. Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of prisoners admitted to the rehabilitation programmes in each of the years 1999 and 2000. [3730/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue): As I have explained to the House on previous occasions, there are four forms of direct therapeutic intervention available to sex offenders within the prison system - individual counselling from the Department's psychology service and the probation and welfare service, the multi-disciplinary thinking skills group work programme in Cork, Arbour Hill and the Curragh, the intensive offence focused group work programme - this has been in operation in Arbour Hill Prison since 1994 and was introduced in the Curragh; earlier this year - and the psychiatric service which provides extensive support for prisoners in this category.

There were ten prisoners admitted each year to the intensive offence focused group work programme in Arbour Hill for the years 1999 and 2000. The number of prisoners who attended the thinking skills programme was 20 in 1999 and 39 in 2000. While it is not possible to accurately quantify participation in all forms of rehabilitation, many of those released would have availed of one or more of the forms of intervention referred to above. I am also advised that the prisoners who were released in the period in question included prisoners who decided not to participate in the sex offenders treatment programme, prisoners who after professional assessment were deemed not to be suitable to participate in it or where it was determined that it was beyond their ability to participate in it.