asked the Minister for Justice the number of prisoners who have requested a private interview with the superintending officer of his Department in the last year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Prisoner Interviews.
61.
I assume that by "private interview" the Deputy means an interview with the superintending officer without the Governor or other officer being present. Requests for such interviews are rare and none was received in the last year.
On the other hand, requests for interview with the superintending officer on the understanding that the Governor or some other officer would be present to discuss a particular matter are so common and are made and granted so informally that statistics about them are not kept. A person may however also make a formal application to see the superintending officer on his next visit to the prison. Twenty-seven such applications were made in the last year, of which 24 have already been met. The remaining three are due to be met within the next week or so.