Laois Prison Officers become 'civil servants' as Irish Prison Service set to finally become 'fully fledged state body'

Prison staff are to be defined as 'civil servants' under a big change to the status of State entity that runs prisons in Portlaoise and the rest of Ireland that has been in the pipeline for more than 20 years.

The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, has announced that the Irish Prison Service (IPS) is to become a fully-fledged State body with a non-executive Board and other best-practice governance and support structures

The Irish Prison Service Bill 2023 will establish the IPS and its Director General on a statutory basis with defined functions including providing safe and secure custody, upholding human rights, and supporting prisoner rehabilitation.

The Departement of Justice said the IPS is currently a non-statutory executive office of the Department of Justice.  At present, the IPS has over 3,500 staff, an annual budget of more than €420 million, and an average of approximately 4,700 prisoners in custody on a given day.

The Department said new structures will provide the IPS with expert guidance and oversight in implementing the Government’s penal policy reform programme, in managing capital projects and in ensuring the highest standards of governance and accountability in the prison system.  

A statment said this will complement the primarily human rights-focused oversight already provided by external entities such as the Inspector of Prisons, the Prison Visiting Committees, and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).

The Departtment added that the draft law also provides that the IPS will provide prisoners with services and activities to support the health, self-respect and spiritual, moral and mental well-being of prisoners. It also provides that provide prisoners with educational, training and other developmental opportunities to enable them to spend their time in prison constructively and preparing to lead law-abiding and purposeful lives following release.

As for the Prison Officers and other employees, the Department said the Bill provides that the IPS staff will be designated as civil servants of the Government, without any changes to their terms and conditions of service including remuneration, allowances or grading.

The Minister for Justice will retain the role of policy direction and will also approve overarching corporate strategy and capital investment. 

The Bill will also formalise the Director General’s accountability to the Minister for the overall management of the prison system.  This will include accountability for implementing the IPS multiannual strategic plan, annual business plan and governance framework, all of which will be placed on a statutory footing. The Minister will remain in charge of capital expenditure within the IPS, and any decision to open or close a prison will be made by the Minister.

Minister McEntee commented on what was described as an important milestone.

“The Government has approved the drafting of a Bill to establish the Irish Prison Service on a statutory basis with new and enhanced governance and accountability structures.

“A safe, secure and progressive prison system is a cornerstone of any well-functioning democracy.  In Ireland we are fortunate to have a prison service with so many committed staff who work day-in, day-out to provide prisoners with opportunities for rehabilitation and self-development while also ensuring an orderly and disciplined prison environment. Through the provision of educational, training, employment and psychological services, we can reduce the level of re-offending and improve overall community safety.

 “The Bill will cement the position of the IPS as a State body with defined functions, provide it with best practice governance supports, and set out clear lines of authority and accountability for the management of the prison system.  This will include establishing the position of IPS Director General as a statutory office with formal authority and accountability to match the responsibilities of the role. 

“This Bill will help to ensure that the IPS is best positioned to fulfil its mandate and to meet future challenges, including its role in the effective management of prison numbers, resources and penal policy reforms.  Ultimately this will help to shape better outcomes for prisoners, staff and communities alike," she said.

As statement added that the Minister also intends to prioritise the need for additional prison spaces because of significant population growth in recent years, as well as planned population growth in the coming years. It also arises due to increases in judicial resources and increasing numbers of Gardaí. 

“We are working on a plan to deliver 400 extra prison spaces across 4 different prisons. This will provide space for 620 additional prisoners across the prison estate. These additional spaces will be delivered in Castlrea, Cloverhill, the Midlands and Mountjoy prisons. It is important that the size of the prison estate keeps up with population growth, as well as increasing judicial and garda resources,” she said.

 The Irish Prison Service (IPS) was first set up under a 1998 Government decision which approved its establishment on an initial administrative basis to prepare the ground for an intended statutory Prisons Authority.  However, the planned legislation was not brought forward at that time and the IPS has since remained as a non-statutory executive office of the Department of Justice with a large degree of operational autonomy but without legal personality or defined functions.

In January 2021 the Minister for Justice approved the establishment of a joint Departmental/IPS working group to develop detailed proposals for putting the agency on a statutory basis with a non-executive board.  In December 2021 the working group reported back to the Minister, who drew on their recommendations in bringing initial proposals to Government in June 2022.

On 28 June 2022 the Government gave approval to draft the General Scheme of a Bill to place the IPS on a full statutory footing, and the Department commenced work on the Scheme. 

On 11 July 2023, the Minister for Justice brought a Memorandum to Government for approval to draft the Irish Prison Service Bill 2023 on the lines of the General Scheme.

The proposed legislation will deliver on a range of strategic objectives including:

• Ø  Cementing the corporate identity of the IPS as a key pillar of the criminal justice system with defined functions and accountabilities;
• Ø  Bringing enhanced stability, certainty and accountability to the IPS operating environment, with all personnel and resources brought under the overall responsibility of the Director General who will be designated as Accounting Officer for the Prisons Vote;
• Ø  Providing, via an expert non-executive Board and committees (including an audit committee), dedicated oversight and support to the Director General in ensuring strong internal governance, implementing policy and institutional reforms, developing and implementing corporate strategy, and advancing major capital projects.
•  

The Director General will be responsible to the Minister for the performance of his/her functions and will prepare statutory corporate and capital plans and governance frameworks for the Minister’s approval.  For its part, the Board will (among other functions) have a significant consultative, advisory, monitoring and appraisal role in the development and implementation of those plans and frameworks. 

In line with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, the Department of Justice will continue to exercise general oversight of the IPS through governance agreements, regular governance meetings and other ongoing engagement.