Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

At the request of the Irish Government, the Council of Europe yesterday published the report of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, CPT, on its visit to Ireland in October 2006, as well as the response of the Government of Ireland to the points raised by the CPT in that report. Its previous visit to this jurisdiction was May 2002. It visited a number of Garda stations, prisons and the Central Mental Hospital and presented its findings earlier this year. Its report and the formal response of the Government together amount to approximately 100 pages. I am not in a position in this statement to go into the same level of detail but would encourage Deputies to read both documents in full as they set out comprehensively the issues raised and the action being taken to address those issues.

The role of the CPT in its national visits is to draw attention to those areas affecting persons in custody where improvements can be made. Nevertheless, the CPT report goes out of its way to praise the co-operation it received during its visit to Ireland. It points out that the Irish authorities have made commendable efforts to stamp out ill treatment by members of the Garda Síochána and praises the new legislation introduced and the use of technological devices such as closed circuit television and mandatory audio-video recording in interrogation rooms. The CPT also states that the majority of prison officers were attempting to deal in a humane manner with prisoners.

As regards the Irish prison system, the principal shortcomings it identified were the lack of progress in updating legislation governing the operation of the prison system, notably the 1947 prison rules; the need for better investigation of prisoner complaints about ill-treatment; the poor physical conditions in Mountjoy Prison, Limerick Prison and Cork Prison, with overcrowding and slopping out; the existence of inter-prisoner violence and intimidation; the number of prisoners on so-called protection; the drugs situation in Limerick Prison, Mountjoy Prison and St. Patrick's Institution; and the need to enhance the regime activities for prisoners in certain prisons.

Action is or has been taken to address all these issues. The Minister knows that the lack of modern prison rules was a matter of particular and ongoing concern to the CPT and I am glad to report that comprehensive new prison rules were signed by the former Minister on 29 May 2007 and entered into force on 1 October 2007.

The CPT also expressed concern about the investigation of complaints of ill-treatment by prisoners. It acknowledged that senior management in the Prison Service are determined to take appropriate action when allegations of ill-treatment of prisoners by staff emerge. Its main concern related to Garda investigations and access to an independent complaints system. The Garda Commissioner has now put new procedures in place to ensure an appropriate level of Garda investigation into allegations by prisoners of assault. As regards an independent complaints system, the visiting committees have the authority to investigate complaints from prisoners and the office of Inspector of Prisons has been established on a statutory basis.

There is no denying that Mountjoy Prison and Cork Prison need to be replaced and that certain blocks in Limerick Prison need to be refurbished. The Government is pressing ahead with the new prison complex at Thornton to replace Mountjoy and a site at Kilworth has been designated as the location for a new prison to replace Cork Prison. There are also plans to refurbish the relevant blocks in Limerick Prison.

The point must be made that the poor physical conditions in the Mountjoy complex, including the lack of facilities to keep prisoners productively occupied, has not facilitated the prison authorities in their efforts to prevent violence between prisoners. Those of us who heard the CPT representative being interviewed on "Morning Ireland" on RTE Radio will be aware that their concerns about safety in particular related to the older prisons of Mountjoy and Limerick and were contrasted with the much more favourable situation in modern prisons such as Cloverhill and Wheatfield.

Owing to its location and limited footprint, it is simply not possible to make the Mountjoy complex secure from drugs and weapons thrown into the prison nor is it possible to provide a wide range of workshops and recreational facilities. Similarly, the cramped nature of Mountjoy makes it difficult to separate particularly dangerous prisoners from the general population. This emphasises the need to proceed with the new prison developments at Thornton and Kilworth as a matter of urgency, and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform hopes the Opposition parties will support our efforts in this regard.

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