To ask the Minister of Justice to detail the provision of religious counsel in each of Northern Ireland’s prisons, including the number of hours during which priests/ministers and other religious leaders are available.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) recognises and respects the right of prisoners to register and practice their faith whilst in custody. Chaplaincy and pastoral care is available to all prisoners, including those with no professed faith. The current Chaplaincy Model focuses on three core activities; committals, conducting services and prisoner in crisis.

NIPS provide funding to the five main churches (Catholic Church, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian, Methodist, Free Presbyterian) and the Muslim faith towards the cost of providing religious counsel in all three establishments. The Chaplaincy budget is allocated to each denomination/faith based on the average daily prisoner population per denomination/faith. The Churches then determine how many Chaplains they deploy in each prison and how many hours they work. Chaplains are available seven days a week during normal working hours and the Lead Co-ordinating Chaplain in each prison covers any urgent chaplaincy requirement outside of normal working hours.

Lead Chaplains can arrange for representatives of other denominations, faiths or beliefs to provide religious counsel or pastoral support as required.