Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I do not propose to impose upon the custody officers a degree of training or skills that I would not impose on an ordinary prison officer asked to do the same function. No additional danger is posed by the fact that a person is being dealt with by a prisoner custody officer rather than by an ordinary prison officer.

Section 6(6)(c) requires that the person "has undergone such course of training relating to, or has such experience of, custody of prisoners as would, in the opinion of the Minister, enable the person to perform the functions of a prisoner custody officer in an efficient manner". This is as good as the provision can be and I do not see how I could go much further.