asked the Minister for Justice if he is satisfied that security at Portlaoise Prison has not been affected in any way by recent cutbacks in expenditure or by reorganisation or redeployment within the Garda force; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions Oral Answers. - Portlaoise Prison Security.
3.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that they are satisfied that security at Portlaoise Prison has not been adversely affected by the recent review of Garda duty there. Having regard to security considerations, it would not be in the public interest for me to comment in any detail on Garda participation in security arrangements at the prison.
Is the Minister saying that there has been no restriction on the availability of Garda manpower at Portlaoise Prison? I put it to him that this is not so, that there were occasions since Wednesday, 7 May, when the Garda strength could not be maintained at the prison because of the serious restriction on overtime.
I am not saying anything of the kind suggested by the Deputy. I said that I had been informed by the Garda authorities that they are satisfied that security at Portlaoise Prison has not been adversely affected by the review of Garda duty there.
I put it to the Minister that there were occasions since 7 May when important security posts could not be manned except within the normal roster of Garda duty and that this was due to the cutback in overtime. It resulted in some strategic security posts not being manned outside that period. Does the Minister think that this a satisfactory situation in what must surely be regarded as our top security prison?
I can assure the Deputy that I am well acquainted with the security position at Portlaoise Prison. I stand behind the view of the Garda authorities. I have satisfied myself that security at Portlaoise Prison has not been adversely affected by any recent developments.
Could the Minister say if the special security provided for prison officers at Portlaoise, arising from the circulation of the book of evidence which put a number of prison officers in Portlaoise at serious risk and guaranteed to those prison officers at that time is being continued at present?
That is a separate issue.
It is not a separate issue.
I am sorry, but it is a separate issue. That is not a matter which falls to be considered under the heading of the Garda presence at Portlaoise Prison.
I am speaking about the prison officers within the prison.
If the Deputy will stop interrupting me, he will hear the answer. I have said in this House, and this morning to the Annual Conference of the Prison Officers' Association in Mullingar, that the arrangements that we have put in place, given the concern underlying those arrangements, to ensure the security and safety of prison officers would be maintained at whatever is regarded as the appropriate level.
The Minister has not answered my question. I asked if the special security arrangements put in train at the time of the release of the book of evidence which contains names and information in relation to prison officers and their families are still in operation within the prison. The information available to me is that they are not available and that important security posts within the prison are not being manned by the Garda at present because of the serious cutback in finance.
The Deputy knows perfectly well that he is whistling up two separate things here.
Answer my question.
I am answering the question and I am sorry if the Deputy does not like the answer. He must then look elsewhere for satisfaction.
I want to get satisfaction and I want my question to be truthfully answered.
The point that I am making is that the security arrangements and the special arrangements that were made in relation to the personal security of the prison officers and their families are not a part of the security arrangements at Portlaoise Prison. That is the first point. Secondly, the special arrangements for the security of prison officers and their families do not consist only in the presence of patrols by gardaí in the areas where they live. Thirdly, that mixture of measures is monitored by the Garda to ensure that we get the desired effect from it. Fourthly I can assure both the Prison Officers' Association and the House here today that we are taking the measures that are deemed necessary to ensure the safety of these prison officers.
I call Question No. 4.
I want to ask just one final question.
This is the final supplementary question.
I have not received satisfaction from the Minister's reply.
The prison officers have.
There is no point in the Minister being evasive. Were there occasions since 7 May when important security posts at Portlaoise Prison were not manned by the Garda?
I have made it as clear as I possibly can in the original answer and in answers to supplementary questions that security at Portlaoise Prison has not been adversely affected by any of the events since 7 May, or indeed since 7 January of this year.