Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Public Accounts Committee
Business of Committee
9:00 am
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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We will hold that over. I have no idea of the answer to one point that Deputy MacSharry raises. I would like to know how many of the senior management of the Prison Service in Longford have been governors or assistant governors. In An Garda Síochána, there are senior gardaí at the most senior level as well as civilians. Do we have several governors and people who know how to run prisons, none of whom is at a senior level in the organisation? Is it effectively a Civil Service approach at a national level from people who may not have any knowledge of what is involved in running a prison? How many of the senior management have been directly involved in the prisons? It would be helpful to know. There should be a mix of people in the headquarters who have direct experience at senior levels on management committees in prisons, as well as maybe those who are not former governors or assistant governors. I think Deputy MacSharry's suggestion that we come back to that separately is probably the best approach. We raised one or two issues earlier this morning that we need to follow up too.