The Minister for Justice and Equality, Alan Shatter TD, today published the reports of the Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, into the deaths of twelve prisoners in 2012 who were either in custody or on temporary release from prison at the time of their deaths.
On the 19 April 2012, Minister Shatter announced that the death of any prisoner in the custody of the Irish Prison Service occurring since 1 January 2012, would be the subject of an independent investigation by the Inspector of Prisons.
The Office of the Inspector of Prisons is a statutory independent office established under the Prisons Act, 2007. The Inspector's key role is to carry out regular inspections of prisons and to submit an Annual Report to the Minister. The Inspector may also investigate any matter arising out of the management or operation of a prison and submit a report on any such investigation.
The reports published today relate to 12 out of 16 deaths during 2012 and contain the Inspector’s findings and recommendations relating to the circumstances surrounding each one. The names of prisoners and staff have been removed by the Inspector to anonymise the reports.
Minister Shatter welcomed the publication of the reports and said, "I would first like to take this opportunity to offer the families my sincere condolences on their tragic loss. While their loss cannot be replaced, I hope these reports will go some way to help clarify matters for them.
“I have studied the reports with great interest and I am very grateful to the Inspector for his work in this regard. It is important for all concerned that there are no questions left unanswered when a person dies in State custody or on temporary release. The Inspector’s investigations and reports are part of a three pronged process - the other elements being the investigations by An Garda Síochána and the investigations and Inquests conducted by the Coroners. I am satisfied that the combination of the Garda Inquiries, the Coroners’ investigations and Inquests and the Inspector’s Reports mean that this country is in compliance with its national and international obligations and meets the strict criteria laid down by the European Court of Human Rights when interpreting the procedural requirements of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“It is also important that we have complete transparency and, if issues arise or deficiencies are identified, to ensure they are addressed and that we learn from them. To that end, I have asked and been advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that any issues identified by the Inspector in his reports are being addressed.
In 9 out of the 12 reports published, the Inspector of Prisons states no issues of concern. In 3 of the reports, the Inspector has made a number of findings mainly in relation to appropriate management and governance structures, appropriate record keeping, CCTV coverage, the influx of drugs into prisons, practices for alerting the emergency services and scene preservation. The steps taken by the Irish Prison Service include the upgrading of CCTV coverage including black spot areas which have been identified, the update and reissue of Crime Scene Preservation procedures to all officers and a systematic review of Irish Prison Service policies, protocols and Standing Operational procedures. The Irish Prison Service continues to investigate specific and identified areas of physical and procedural security in terms of the prevention of drugs entering prisons. A new prisoner release policy was recently implemented and an Action Plan in response to the recommendations made by the Inspector of Prisons is also being implemented.
Minister Shatter concluded "I fully expect the recommendations contained in the Inspector’s reports will be acted upon and all necessary steps taken to ensure any deficiencies identified by the Inspector are addressed.”
The Inspector, at his discretion, has met with a number of the families prior to the publication of the reports to explain to them the contents of the individual reports. Arrangements have also been made to provide them with copies of the reports.
The reports into the circumstances surrounding the four remaining deaths in custody in 2012 will be published in due course.
The Reports are available on the Department’s website – www.justice.ie.