I wish to raise the case of Josephine Hayden, formerly general secretary of Republican Sinn Féin and now a prisoner in Limerick Prison.
In January 1996, Josephine Hayden and five men were jailed for possessing a sawn-off shotgun, a revolver and some ammunition. The court heard that the revolver was not capable of being fired. Josephine was a front-seat passenger in a van carrying six people. She had no previous convictions, but was sentenced to six years' imprisonment.
Before her imprisonment she had no apparent health problems. On 30 May last year, in prison, she suffered a heart attack. The ambulance taking her to hospital was delayed for approximately 20 minutes until an armed escort could be summoned. Limerick Regional Hospital has not accepted responsibility for the decision to return her to prison after seven days. In July of 1997 and March of this year, she was again in hospital with angina.
The journalist who wrote about her case in the Sunday Business Post on 29 November 1998, and who visited her in Limerick, described Limerick Prison as a place straight from the pages of Charles Dickens—
C-Wing, where Josephine is held on the third floor, was closed for 17 years at one stage, before being re-opened for women prisoners. The prison governor said on Radio Limerick that conditions there are "the worst we have".
A Council of Europe report published in 1994 said that conditions there were "a cause of particular concern to the delegation. A cell of five square metres is scarcely adequate as a living area for one person". The wing is frequently over-crowded, with prisoners being held two to a cell: on Thursday 29 October there were 15 prisoners in 11 cells (one cell is unusable, because of a fire).
The journalist described conditions there as follows:
Sanitary and hygiene conditions are poor: at night, prisoners must keep chamber-pots in their cells. There are only two showers, one of which malfunctions. There is a sluice (into which the chamber-pots are emptied) beside the showers, and no air-conditioning. One of the two toilets is in bad condition..
The room in which the women are served their food also contains a partitioned-off toilet in the corner. .In this room the dishes are also washed. It contains the washing machine which the prisoners use for their clothes and it is used for recreation..
The cells are damp. Natural light isn't adequate, so artificial light is needed all the time. Many panes in the windows are broken, and must be stuffed with toilet paper. The exercise yard is the size of a large room, about 15 — 20 paces long, and surrounded by twelve-foot high steel walls..
Alan Kavanagh of the Prison Officers' Association is quoted by the Limerick Leader as calling for C-wing to be closed. It is supposedly due to be closed next year and replaced by a new wing.
These conditions must pose a threat to the health of a frail 52 year old woman with a recurring heart condition. I believe there is a strong case to release her on compassionate grounds.
Josephine Hayden has been led to understand that she would be released were she to support the British-Irish Agreement, or if the Continuity IRA were on ceasefire. Josephine Hayden is not a member of the Continuity IRA and, as the journalist pointed out, this organisation has not caused a single death in nearly 12 years of existence. For nearly a year it has been on effective cessation.
Members of the Government and the Minister's party have an excellent record of visiting Irish prisoners in British prisons, expressing concern and seeking the release of prisoners such as Róisín McAliskey. One could contrast this case with the Róisín McAliskey case. I do not have time to do so here, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, but I am asking the Minister, at the very least, to consider the release of this woman for Christmas parole. There is an overwhelming case, based on her general health and heart condition, the unsatisfactory prison conditions where she is held, and the reality that she poses no threat to this State, that she should be granted a conditional release on compassionate grounds.
I could contrast her case against that of others who are being released, but I will not. There is no need. I ask the Minister to consider what I have had to say on behalf of Josephine Hayden and review her case before Christmas.