Vol. 495 No. 4
57 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the recent comments of a person (details supplied) in relation to prison authorities breaching rules relating to the health and welfare of prisoners; the steps, if any, he will take to ensure that all these rules are observed in future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20124/98]
The comments to which the Deputy refers were the subject of a recent court case.
While I accept that there may have been a departure from some of the prison rules, any departure was in the context of the Rules for the Government of Prisons, 1947, being outdated and in some cases obsolete. The court did not find that this departure had brought about conditions which would seriously endanger the applicant's life or health or subject him to inhuman or degrading treatment.
I, too, share the court's concerns and I am conscious of the need to implement new prison rules to replace the Rules for Government of Prisons, 1947, at the earliest opportunity. My Department has given the court an assurance that new rules will be implemented at the earliest possible moment and, in any event, not later than 30 June 1999. The court has since rejected the applications for habeas corpus, mandamus declarations, etc., and no order of any substantive kind was made.
The position with regard to implementing new prison rules is that these are in the process of being drafted and have been so for some time now. Draft new prison rules were originally prepared by my Department and published in the policy document, "The Management of Offenders — A Five Year Plan", in 1994. The draft rules were then referred to the Attorney General's Office which subsequently advised that the rules would have to be substantially redrafted. My Department has continued working on the new rules in consultation, when appropriate, with the Attorney General's Office in this regard.
It is my intention to ensure that this matter will be given priority and that the new rules will be prepared and implemented at the earliest possible opportunity.
