Hildegarde Naughton

Hildegarde Naughton, the minister of state for civil and criminal justice, said work is “well advanced” on the review as she launched the 2020 annual report of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) at Castlerea Prison.

She paid tribute to the prison service’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic over the past 18 months, saying its efforts to control the spread had been “phenomenal” and prevented deaths and hospitalisations.

The annual report notes that the overall daily average number in custody in 2020 was down by about four per cent on the previous year, largely due to temporary release measures and the impact of Covid-19 on court sessions.

The report also notes the increased activity of the Inspector of Prisons in 2020 as the office deployed additional resources and published its framework for inspections.

Speaking after the launch, Ms Naughton said: “Work is well advanced in the Department of Justice on a review of policy options for prison and penal reform to examine how we can reduce reoffending and make our communities safer. I look forward to publishing its initial findings in the autumn.

“The establishment of the high level taskforce on mental health was key to the government’s commitment to ensure the critical mental health needs for people in prison are met, addiction treatments are provided and primary care support is available on release, so we can better help individuals and for society.

“The taskforce is also due to provide an interim report to both the minister for health and I by the end of September, and an implementation plan will be published by the end of the year.”