Charlie Flanagan may boost prison watchdog

Charlie Flanagan, the justice minister, is considering requests by the Inspector of Prisons for extra resources, staffing, and powers.

The minister has also provided funding for external experts to review cases of deaths in prisons.

The inspector, Patricia Gilheaney, said on RTÉ radio that when she took over a year ago she realised the office was “not fit for purpose”.

She said only one prison inspection report had been published in the last five years and that no inspections had been conducted by her office of five prisons over the last 10 years.

This amounts to half of the State’s ten closed prisons. She pointed out that it was a legal requirement that inspections be carried out regularly.

Ms Gilheaney said on Today with Sean O’Rourke that the lack of inspections was “down to resources”.

She said an external review of her office by PA Consulting was commissioned, and that she submitted it to the minister last December.

The inspector said her office consisted of herself, the deputy inspector Helen Casey, and two administrative staff and a total budget of €496,000.

Ms Gilheaney said as well as prison inspections, her office investigates deaths in custody.

She said there have been 75 deaths in prisons, or involving prisoners on temporary release, over the last five years, and that there have been seven deaths to date this year.

She said a dedicated investigation team in the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland had five staff and investigated five deaths per year, on average.

Ms Gilheaney said there was “no comparison” in resources.

In response to queries from the Irish Examiner, the Department of Justice said the report submitted by the inspector last December was being considered.

“The report was submitted to the department to inform a consideration of resources, legal powers and other related issues,” she said.

It was received following the estimates process for Budget 2019 and is being analysed in the context of the 2020 budget. It will be considered as part of the normal estimates process later this year.

The statement said the minister had met the inspector and that he “strongly supports” her office and that money had been provided for a review on prison deaths.

“Funding has been provided to contract external expertise to review cases of deaths in prisons,” it said.

The statement said a process was also under way to appoint a new office manager.

In addition, it said: “The Department of Justice and Equality recently approved the awarding of a contract, following a tender competition, in respect of an inspection framework and strategic plan for the Office of the Inspector of Prisons.”

Last Saturday, the Irish Examiner published details of the latest Inspector of Prisons report on a death in custody.

The report expressed serious concern at the failure of the Irish Prison Service to implement recommendations the Inspector of Prisons had made “over and over again”.