Question on prison conditions for separated prisoners NI

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Updated: 7th October 2014

Question No. 76
Parliamentary Question – Oireachtas

To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the contacts he has had with the Northern authorities in relation to prison conditions for separated prisoners; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
– Thomas Pringle.
For PRIORITY answer on Tuesday, 7th October, 2014.
Ref No: 37956/14

Since the devolution of Policing and Justice in 2010, policing, prisons and overall criminal justice policy in Northern Ireland have been the responsibility of the Minister of Justice, David Ford MLA.

The Government has an ongoing engagement with Minister Ford on a wide range of security and political issues, including most recently on 1 October, when my colleague Minister Fitzgerald and Minister Ford addressed the Twelfth Annual Organised Crime Seminar in Belfast. I myself spoke with Minister Ford on Sunday 28 September by phone.

Since 2010, in addition to strengthening Garda-PSNI cooperation, a primary focus of the Irish Government is to ensure that the justice systems in place are robust and remain consistent with the principles and values of the Good Friday Agreement and the other agreements of which we are co-guarantors. In this context, my Department maintains an ongoing interest in the humanitarian aspects of prison conditions in Northern Ireland and engages as appropriate with the relevant authorities.

A central aspect of the Irish government’s engagement is our absolute support for the men and women of the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Prison service in their work to support the rule of law and a new beginning for justice in Northern Ireland. I would like to underline previous condemnations in this House of the unacceptable threats to members of the Prison Service and the PSNI from enemies of the peace process and call once again for such threats to be lifted immediately.

An Executive Agency of the Northern Ireland Department of Justice, the Northern Ireland Prison Service, implements prison policy in that jurisdiction. A Prisoner Ombudsman is also appointed by Minister Ford and operates entirely independently of the Northern Ireland Prison Service. The Prisoner Ombudsman, Mr. Tom McGonigle, and his team investigate complaints from prisoners and visitors about prisons and prison conditions in Northern Ireland.

Since taking office I have had regular and comprehensive discussions with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers MP, about the overall situation in the North and the peace process including prisoner issues.

As previously indicated in this House by my predecessor, the arrangements agreed for the devolution of Policing and Justice in 2010, include a role for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in national security matters. This limited role includes some aspects of prison policy and practice in Northern Ireland. My officials in the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast continue to monitor prisoner cases which arise from the exercise of such competences by the Secretary of State.

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