Mr. Liam Herrick:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to share our observations today. The ICCL has long called for a proper independent inspection mechanism for all places where people are deprived of their liberty in the State. When deprived of their liberty, people are more vulnerable to abuse, ill-treatment and torture. Proper safeguards must be in place.

Ireland ratified the UN Convention against Torture in 2000 and signed the optional protocol in 2007. We have, therefore, been waiting 15 years for the ratification of OPCAT, despite it being promised by successive Governments. We believe this is finally an opportunity to put in place a proper independent inspection system in Ireland, which will comply with the highest international standards.

The Bill proposes a framework for a national preventative mechanism to prevent torture and ill-treatment, which is most welcome. However, we do have some concerns about the general scheme, as presented, when compared with the standards of OPCAT. We are very eager to work together with the Government at this stage in the legislative process to secure the highest possible outcome.

As our colleagues in the Irish Penal Reform Trust have outlined, the first issue is that the Government has decided against ratifying the optional protocol before the eventual Bill becomes law. While this does reflect general Government policy regarding international treaties, this treaty is significantly different because it specifically provides for engagement with the expert international body, the sub-committee on torture, in the process of developing national legislation.

We would also urge the Government to expand the NPM and the breadth of the proposed legislation to cover all places where people are deprived of their liberty in Ireland. We must include social and care settings such as psychiatric hospitals, on which there is very little detail in the general scheme, nursing homes and direct provision centres. We are happy to answer questions on specific provisions on those non-criminal justice areas of detention.

As the Office of the Inspector of Prisons and others have outlined, of crucial importance is the principle of functional independence of the NPM. The UN's SPT has set out standards in this regard and there are a number of areas in which the general scheme, as currently drafted, falls short. In particular, we recommend that the NPM be independent of Departments and be accountable primarily to the Oireachtas. One specific flaw we identify in the proposals is that there is provision for a prohibition on the new inspector issuing observations on Government policy or legislation.

A gap in Ireland’s inspection regime of particular interest to us is the lack of any statutory-based independent inspections of police custody to date. It is proposed in the general scheme to address this deficit. We think it is essential, however, that the eventual legislation be co-ordinated and aligned with the proposals in the draft policing, security and community safety Bill.

We encourage the Government to enshrine collaboration with civil society in the text of the eventual Bill. The SPT has set out clear guidelines for how civil society can play a role in the design of the NPM and in its ultimate functioning. Mr. Beatty and I are happy to take questions on any of these issues.