Vol. 463 No. 8
130 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice whether a person (details supplied) from Cork has been transferred between Cork, Portlaoise, Mountjoy, Limerick prisons and the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, Dublin 14; the reason for each transfer; whether he has been subjected to any injuries or ill-treatment while in these institutions; and if she will transfer him back to Portlaoise to complete his sentence. [7414/96]
The Deputy will be aware that, for internal operational reasons, transfers of offenders take place on a regular basis between all our prison institutions. For sound management reasons, including prison security and confidentiality, it has not been the practice to give detailed reasons for such transfers. I do not propose to depart from this practice in the case of the person referred to in the question. It is a matter of record that this person is serving a three year sentence since November 1994 and since committal on his current sentence he has been imprisoned at various times in each of the institutions mentioned and also spent some time in the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum.
As implied by the Deputy, the offender has made allegations against prison staff in different institutions. All these allegations have been investigated and proved to be unfounded.
I have given the offender's case every consideration but am not prepared to authorise a transfer to Portlaoise for him at this stage of his sentence. I will, however, continue to keep his case under review.
