Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, the primary role of the Irish Prison Service is to provide safe and secure custody for prisoners. The Deputy will be aware that I take the health and safety of Irish Prison Service staff very seriously, just as he does. I have met the representative association and the head of the Irish Prison Service. I have been assured by the director general of the Irish Prison Service that every action is taken by the service to ensure, as far as possible, the safety of all prison staff. That is clearly and absolutely a critical consideration. The director general has assured me that every violent assault is treated as a serious incident, as indeed it should be.

The Deputy will be aware that a serious incident occurred recently when a prisoner assaulted two prison staff while on an escort to Tallaght hospital for medical treatment. In light of this incident, the Irish Prison Service has established a focus group on hospital escorts and procedures, which is being chaired by the director of operations. The focus group is looking at this issue in detail. The purpose of the group is to review the conduct of hospital escorts and to make recommendations to the director general in order that we can have absolute safety.

This was a very unusual event. However rare an event of this seriousness is, we must have all the procedures in place. The Prison Service control and restraint advisory group was also convened following the incident to consider several issues including personal protective equipment, defensive equipment, training and communications. Proposals have been identified regarding the requirements for prison escorts. The group’s short, interim and long-term recommendations were accepted by the Prison Service’s director general. The prison officer national executive sits on the advisory group and contributes to its work. At a meeting which I chaired between the representatives of the prison officers and the governor, it was agreed that any protective equipment, for example, that was needed would be issued.

See this speech in context