Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

It is important to say that the Deputies who visit loyalist and republican prisoners believe our intervention is probably one of the best ways of reducing tensions and threats through respecting the rights of people in the prison system. It has been our direct knowledge that the stock take agreement has not been implemented in the manner it was supposed to have been implemented and that concessions that were supposedly to be given in terms of a reduction in controlled movement and access on the landings were being interpreted in a manner that meant a knock-back in prisoner conditions. This obviously led to an escalating situation.

We are very concerned that there are elements that have a vested interest in keeping the status quofrom both a security services and prison service perspective. There has been some incitement of prison officers by some hard-line elements in the Unionist community, which is not helpful either. The Minister must step in on this and not just accept what has been said by the establishment because we are deeply concerned about what is likely to happen and the fact that chaplaincy services were not allowed into the prison the day after the riot intervention. Legal people were not invited or allowed in either, which legitimised the concerns of people and led us to believe that they are particularly vulnerable. We ignore this situation at our peril.

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