Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 10, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following:

"(4) A prisoner custody officer shall, in respect of any search conducted under this section, make a report to the relevant governor—

(a) explaining the reasons for the search,

(b) in the case of a search under subsection (2), stating what grounds he or she had for believing that the prisoner had concealed a prohibited article beneath his or her clothing,

(c) detailing what, if any, prohibited articles were found, and

(d) providing any other details that the prisoner custody officer may deem to be relevant.

(5) A prisoner custody officer shall give any prohibited article found pursuant to a search under this section, to the relevant governor.".

Searches of a person involve the violation of important rights. I recognise that this is sometimes required for the safety of a prisoner or other prisoners. I also recognise that prisoners necessarily submit themselves to a regime that involves violations of privacy at many levels. However, in this context, the Bill once again falls short on safeguards that should be included to protect all prisoners from an unwarranted intrusion on their rights.

This amendment represents a simple reporting structure, whereby there would be a record of every search and an explanation for same. The effect of this amendment is to protect a prisoner's rights and to shield a prisoner custody officer from any unjustified accusations or unfounded complaints.

Amendment No. 11 is a technical amendment, which is dependent on the acceptance of amendment No. 10.