Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

On 31 July last, a 21-year-old prisoner, Gary Douch, made a request to prison officers in Mountjoy for protection. It was a reasonable request, given what happened to him afterwards. However, what happened when he made the request was not reasonable. He was placed in a holding cell in the basement with at least five other inmates where he was subsequently battered to death.

Every State failure to protect the lives of those in custody must be the subject of an independent investigation, whether they are in a Garda station or in prison. We cannot accept anything less. I welcome the establishment of the commission of investigation into this case and see this measure as progress.

Last August, the Minister established an investigation, conducted by an official from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who reported to the Minister. This was an inadequate response to the situation. As argued by the Irish Penal Law Reform Trust, a truly independent inquiry must, by definition, include investigators who are not part of the bureaucracy and ethos of the Prison Service and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The investigation established by the Minister at the time could be described as more in-house than independent and as such fell short of obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. I welcome the establishment by the Minister of the commission of investigation but it should have been done at the time of the death of Gary Douch.

The commission has greater potential to uncover the truth and make sound recommendations to prevent further tragic loss of life in the prison system or detention of any kind. I am glad the draft terms of reference include the making of policy and legislative recommendations. One of the failures of the commission of investigation into the Dean Lyons case was that it made no recommendations. This deficiency diminished the value of that commission. What happens after the commission reports is more important. We do not want the report simply to sit on the shelf like other reports, with no action taken. It is essential that positive steps are taken and no expense spared to ensure the bodily integrity and right to life of all persons in custody.

Unfortunately, the Government's response to the Dean Lyons case does not bode well. In that case a vulnerable person was forced to make a false confession and was effectively framed by gardaí while in custody. What has the Government done since that commission reported? It is further curtailing the right to silence and introducing longer hours of Garda detention without any change to the regulations governing the treatment of persons in custody. The grave issues brought to light in the Dean Lyons case remain unaddressed. It is vital, whatever party is in the next Government, that it should take the concrete steps necessary to protect the lives and welfare of prisoners. There must be no repeat of the inaction of this Government.

I am slightly concerned that the terms of reference should include an examination of what steps were taken by the Prison Service subsequent to the tragic death of Gary Douch. The cell in which Mr. Douch was killed was demolished by the Prison Service, even before the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, CPT, could inspect it. Its inspectorate had already indicated it wished to visit the prison. The CPT, tasked with monitoring standards in our prison system, visited Ireland in October, a visit of which the Government was notified. It could have conducted an independent investigation into the circumstances leading to and surrounding the death of Gary Douch. The committee was denied the opportunity to do so because the Prison Service demolished the cell where his murder took place. I hope this action is not an indication of a culture of cover-up akin to that operating in the Garda in County Donegal and other areas.

Terence Wheelock, aged 20, died in Garda custody in June 2005. The Garda claims he hanged himself in the cell but it is widely believed he died as a result of Garda brutality. I have seen photographs which support that conclusion. The Wheelock family's solicitor secured a court order to preserve the cell for an examination of forensic evidence. However, the order was disregarded and the cell was renovated, destroying all potential forensic evidence.

Building a super prison will not prevent the murder, torture and inhuman treatment of prisoners. It will simply replicate these conditions on a larger scale. I call on the Government to ratify the operational protocol to the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, as is required by the equivalent provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. The Government must establish a prisoners' ombudsman and remove the current exemption of children in detention from the remit of the Ombudsman for Children.

The Government must establish and resource an adequate number of mental health treatment centres with appropriate levels of security to bring an end to the practice whereby the prisons system acts as a dumping ground for people suffering mental illness. As highlighted by Deputy Quinn, all Members know of individuals suffering mental illness who should not be in prisons. As society has not properly addressed the issue of supports for people with mental illness, the only place it considers appropriate is prison. Hopefully, the findings of this commission of inquiry will be a wake-up call, not only to the Government but to society, to examine our policy of imprisonment.

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