International Agreements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-07
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Jerry Buttimer (FG), Cork South-Central

To give further clarity to the House, in preparation for its future role as the inspectorate of places of detention, the current Office of the Inspector of Prisons, OIP, is participating in the Council of Europe NPM forum and attending the NPM workshops. The OIP is also engaging with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to designate a co-ordinating body of the multi-member NPM in the general scheme.
Stakeholder engagement is ongoing and has commenced with An Garda Síochána as well as the existing Garda accountability mechanisms, including the Policing and Community Safety Authority and Fiosrú. Planning is taking place regarding future training needs within the inspectorate and framework development for the future monitoring and functioning of the office and the Inspector of Prisons has been supported with additional funding and resources to expand the current prison inspection programme and to prepare the office for its new role as NPM.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-07/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:54+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-07