Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It was confirmed to me in recent weeks that the progression unit within Mountjoy Prison has been closed and that it is being used to deal with excessive numbers of sex offenders. My concern is for the inmates who were in the progression unit, which is an important part of the incentivised regime policy within prisons. There are basic, standard and enhanced regimes for prisoners and it incentivises them to engage in positive behaviours and education, for which they are rewarded. The progression unit was the top of this programme and allowed for a more relaxed, safer and drug-free environment that provided better incentives and better rehabilitation options for prisoners.

Now, due to overcrowding, that has been lost, and this is incredibly short-sighted. Prisoners who are doing well are being punished. Those who are engaging in rehabilitation programmes are now losing the privilege. I asked in one parliamentary question whether the prisoners who were in the unit would be kept together to maintain that positive environment, but the answer was unclear and the Department was unable to confirm whether that was the case.

One of our issues with prisons is that, in failing to provide proper rehabilitative services and supports, people who leave prison end up falling back into crime. We end up putting pressure on our prison population, cause continual chaos in our communities and continue to leave people in chaotic lifestyles, rather than help them move beyond that. Part of this is about providing rehabilitative supports in the prison and the links to outside, and the community and probation work to prepare them for release and post release. This is why the progression unit matters and is important, and it is incredibly disappointing it has been closed.

What are we doing to provide for these prisoners who have worked their way up, through the incentivised regime policy, and should be rewarded and supported? There is also the wider question of rehabilitative services within prisons to ensure that in the long run we are reducing the need for prisons and reducing the prison population by tackling recidivism. What are we doing on those two key issues of prison reform?

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