Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 245: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason a prisoner with major psychiatric problems was sharing a cell with other prisoners (details supplied); and the person responsible for making the final decision concerning cell allocation. [28357/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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As the Deputy is no doubt aware, I have appointed Mr Michael Mellett to carry out an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Mr Gary Douch while in custody in Mountjoy Prison and in particular:

to establish what action was taken by the Irish Prison Service, management and staff to safeguard Mr. Douch;

to clarify whether Mr. Douch had expressed special concerns about his safety;

to establish what procedures were followed and their adequacy;

to establish the procedures used to allocate prisoners to the cell in which Mr. Douch died;

to establish the level of monitoring during the night of 31 July/1 August 2006;

and to make any observations and recommendations he sees fit. I intend that the report by Mr. Mellett will be published in due course, with the exception of any parts which could be deemed prejudicial to potential criminal proceedings. As the Deputy will appreciate, this tragic incident is also the subject of an ongoing Garda investigation and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this point in time.