Prisoners making fewer complaints as system is 'manifestly unfit for purpose’, says Chief Prisons Inspector

Ottoline Spearman

The Chief Inspector of Prisons has described the complaints procedure for prisoners as "manifestly unfit for purpose", saying that the state of the system has led to a reduction in the number of complaints.

In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, Mark Kelly described how the system is failing to work, with significant delays in investigating complaints and inefficient investigations.

"It's absolutely clear that the majority of prisoners have no confidence whatsoever in the complaint system. It is manifestly unfit for purpose. And my predecessors and I have been saying this for very many years now," he said.

Only 50 per cent of prisoners surveyed by the Office for the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) across four prisons in 2024 stated that they would feel safe to make a complaint, while only 18 per cent believed the complaints system works well.

The number of Category A complaint notifications - the most serious complaints alleging assault or discrimination - has fallen by 28 per cent since 2021.

Mr Kelly thinks that this can be attributed to prisoners' lack of confidence in the complaints system.

"As the system currently operates, even if an investigator reaches the conclusion that a complaint is well-founded, that conclusion then goes to the governor of the prison, and the governor can overrule that finding.

"Prisoners know this. In consequence, the number of complaints are continuing to fall and the confidence of prisoners in the system is minimal."

Saoirse Brady, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, said prisoners may be deterred from making a complaint due to fear of reprisal, or because "they feel it is a waste of their time as they won’t be taken seriously and nothing will change".

She also described how the anonymity of the complaints system was failing, as complaints boxes are often situated in plain sight of other prisoners and prison staff, which makes it difficult to have confidence in the anonymity of a complaint.

"The fact that people in prison are making fewer complaints and not challenging these deplorable conditions tells its own story about how dysfunctional the current system is and the lack of confidence it engenders.

"The lack of a functional complaints system is a significant gap in the accountability regime for prisons in Ireland," she said. 

There are also signs of systemic issues with the complaints system. Frequent delays in processing complaints mean that witnesses have often left prison before the complaint is processed.

Only 9 per cent of complaints' investigation reports were finalised within the statutory 3-month timeframe.

Furthermore, of the 55 complaints received in 2024, the OIP was only notified of the appointment of independent investigators to 19 of these complaints.

There was also a large backlog in the completion of complaints, with only 20 per cent of full investigation reports received by the OIP relating to complaints in 2024.

Ms Brady said that these delays are "simply not good enough".

"In a prison setting, any delay in resolving complaints can, at a minimum, exacerbate tensions or, at the more extreme end of the scale, result in actual harm to individuals if serious issues are not addressed as soon as possible."

Mr Kelly also expressed concern at the delays in appointing investigators, even for "very serious allegations of assault", as well as investigations carried out that are "often not efficient".

The OIP is working with the Irish Prison Service and the Office of the Ombudsman on models for a new and better complaints system - something Ms Brady says has been promised since 2016.

The objective for the new system is for all complainants to be allowed to appeal to the Ombudsman, which would give a level of independence to the investigation of complaints, which, accordingly to Mr Kelly, is "completely absent at the moment".

Ms Brady said: "The Ombudsman should be empowered to receive individual complaints and have the power to adjudicate on the matter raised, and to make binding recommendations for improvement, which should be addressed and implemented."

A spokesperson for the Irish Prison Service said: "The Irish Prison Service has recently updated the prisoner complaint form to make it more user-friendly and, during 2024, finalised useful information for prisoners to circulate on the prisoner information TV channel to further develop interest and engagement with the service.

"The Department of Justice is currently reviewing and updating the rules for prisoner complaints to improve and enhance the current complaints process and to increase the investigative capacity for serious complaints.

"All prisoners have the right to make a complaint at any time, and all complaints are treated with the utmost seriousness."