Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 53, 62 and 108 together.

The reports referred to are greatly exaggerated. The correct situation is that paramilitary prisoners are located in the maximum security Portlaoise Prison which, in addition to the usual perimeter security, has armed military presence. Subversive prisoners in Portlaoise Prison have a somewhat different regime from other prisoners due to historical and political reasons. Deputies are aware of many of these reasons and also the inherent danger and inevitable problems that would have ensued if subversive prisoners had been forced to mix with the general prisoner population. Some of the subversive grouping currently located in Portlaoise Prison have had a presence there since the height of the troubles and long before the Good Friday Agreement.

I have asked the Department to consult with the Director General of the Irish Prison Service regarding the appropriateness of the regime applicable to subversive prisoners in the light of developing circumstances.

There are 50 subversive prisoners in Portlaoise Prison. Each of these prisoners is subject to the prison rules and must comply with the instructions of the governor and his staff. For example, cell searches take place when ordered and prisoners on these landings have been disciplined for breaches of the prison rules. Any suggestion that these landings are being run by the prisoners as opposed to the management is not true and there is no "military training" taking place. There is a short ceremony which takes place each Easter, when the various groupings gather in the exercise yard and read out the Proclamation associated with the Easter Rising. The process is supervised by staff at all times. Each evening prior to lock up, the prisoners stand in front of their cells before all entering their cells at the same time. Again this is all done under the supervision of prison staff.

The facility to purchase goods over and above what is available in the tuck shop is not a new concession and has been available to subversive prisoners in Portlaoise Prison since 1973. Anything ordered into the prison is, of course, subject to the normal rules and regulations in place for good order and security such as searching and the items purchased are not paid for by the State. The murals on the walls of the landings have been in place since the late 1970s and 1980s.

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