Dr. Ciara O'Connell:

I will add to that. In our current role, we have oversight of complaints. We can investigate circumstances around complaints but we do not investigate complaints. We noted in our written statement that we see no role for the office of the inspectorate of places of detention in the complaints mechanism. However, those who read our annual reports for the past five years will see that we have been saying the system is unfit for purpose, for many of the reasons referred to. The Irish Prison Service will state there is a backlog of complaints and that having them investigated is an issue. We have noted long delays. We, too, take this opportunity to call for a prisons ombudsman to consider complaints, which are currently categorised by the governor even though they are independently investigated. After an independent investigator reaches a determination, the governor has the power to overturn the decision. It is a bit messy, so the matter is definitely worth considering.