Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 21 May 1996

Vol. 465 No. 6

Written Answers. - Mountjoy Visiting Committee Report.

Joe Costello

Question:

236 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Justice the reason the annual report of the Mountjoy Visiting Committee has not been published; the legal advice, if any, she has received regarding its publication; from whom she received the legal advice; whether she will publish the material in the report which is not deemed to be legally suspect; whether non-publication of the visiting committee report conflicts with the requirements of the Prison (Visiting Committee) Act, 1925; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10341/96]

Minister for Justice (Mrs. Owen)

I refer the Deputy to the answer I gave the House on Wednesday, 15 May 1996. I have not yet published the 1995 report from the Mountjoy Visiting Committee pending clarification of certain issues with them. In doing this I have acted on advice received from the Attorney General.

I can confirm that I have written to the committee and that it is my firm intention to publish the report in its entirety when they have responded to the queries I have put to them. In the circumstances, I do not consider that my actions to date — which, as I have indicated, are based on advice from the Attorney General — are in conflict with my statutory obligation under the Prison (Visiting Committee) Act, 1925. I, as Minister, also have a duty, in addition to publishing the report, to ensure that what is published does not infringe on any person's constitutional rights or prove to be defamatory or libellous.