The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, John O'Donoghue, T.D., has welcomed the award today of a major contract to develop an Inter-Cultural Communication and Racial Equality Research and Training programme for the Irish Prisons Service. The successful bidder for the contract was the National Training and Development Institute in association with Fitzpatrick Associates.
The contract was awarded following a competitive tender competition.
The Project will examine the nature of cultural awareness and diversity amongst a cross-section of prisoners and prison staff. The findings of this Project will form the basis of a cultural awareness training programme for both staff and prisoners.
Commenting on the awarding of the contract the Minister said, "Prisons are a reflection of the society they serve and Ireland is no exception to this. As the proportion of the population who are of non-Irish descent grows it may be anticipated that the proportion of the prison population who are of non-Irish descent will also grow. Non-nationals and those of non-Irish descent in society must be treated with care, justice, dignity and respect. This holds even more so those who may find themselves in the care of the State through the medium of the prison system."
A Prisons Service spokesman emphasised that there is no race problem in our prisons. He said, "The award of this contract now is a reflection of a proactive approach on the part of the Prisons Service to potential problems by 'heading them off at the pass' and dealing with them before they become problems." |
