The Prison Service does not record the number of visits made. Each chaplain is allocated a set number of hours (commensurable with the number of prisoners) within each prison establishment. Chaplains spent 13,704 hours in Northern Ireland’s prisons last year.
The number and location of the chaplains linked to each prison establishment in Northern Ireland is given in the following table.
Establishment Roman Catholic Chaplains Church of Ireland Chaplains Methodist Chaplains Presbyterian Chaplains Free Presbyterian Chaplains Maghaberry 2 2 2 10 1 Magilligan 1 1 I 1 1 Hydebank Wood 2 1 1 1 1 1 A Presbyterian chaplain has recently been recruited
In addition, arrangements have been made for an Imam to make regular prison visits and more recently, we have contacted a Polish Priest to arrange a visit.
The Northern Ireland Prison Service are currently in discussion with the churches on recommendations from an internal review of the structure of the Northern Ireland Prison Chaplaincy Service; this will conclude on 12 June. The review addresses current and future management arrangements and the resources required to meet the diverse needs of the growing prisoner population in line with best practice elsewhere.