The Office of the Inspector of Prisons has published its updated Inspection Framework, A Framework for the Inspection of Prisons in Ireland (2024).
Changes to the Inspection Framework were made following extensive consultations with key stakeholders including people in prison, prison staff, management, national and international monitoring bodies and community-based organisations. These changes reflected in the (2024) Inspection Framework include:
1. Prioritisation of a people-centred approach to prison inspections through the adoption of strategies designed to promote collaboration, information-sharing and active citizenship.
2. Amendment of the five Inspection Focus Areas from the 2020 Inspection Framework to four (Respect & Dignity, Safety & Security, Health & Wellbeing and Purposeful Activity & Resettlement). The Inspection Focus Area, Purposeful Activity and Resettlement, emphasises the greater connectivity between access to activities and services available in prisons and prospects for positive reintegration outcomes.
3. Review and refinement of Focus Area Indicative Measures which provide an overview of the areas under assessment by the Inspectorate, underpinned by international human rights standards.
4. Completion of the self-assessment process of the implementation status of the Inspectorate’s recommendations made by the Irish Prison Service on a bi-annual basis.
5. Development of a new internal performance indicator tracking tool to allow the Inspectorate to examine trends in systemic and individual prison performance.
Speaking following the publication of the Inspection Framework (2024), Chief Inspector of Prisons, Mark Kelly stated:
“I am delighted that our Inspection Framework has been updated following consultations carried out with key stakeholders. We thank all of the stakeholders who participated in the consultation process.
The publication of our 2024 Inspection Framework is designed to ensure that the process in how we conduct prison inspections is transparent. Central to our work remains ensuring that our prison inspections remain people-centred focused, principally conducting preventative and robust prison inspections that aim to protect the human rights of people detained in prisons across Ireland. The 2024 Inspection Framework provides us with a clear roadmap for achieving our goal.”
The Inspection Framework is a “living document” and is continuously subject to review.
The Inspection Framework is available to view here.