Vol. 518 No. 2
3 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the killers of a person (details supplied) are being accorded special facilities and privileges at Castlerea Prison; the reason for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11048/00]
Two of the persons referred to by the Deputy were transferred to Castlerea Prison last December with a group of Provisional IRA prisoners. The third prisoner was transferred to Castlerea after his conviction in February.
At Castlerea hospital, prior to its conversion to prison use, there were some conventional houses as well as the main hospital block. Very broadly, what happened was that a wall was built around the whole compound, the main hospital was converted to a modern prison, with all the usual facilities and, rather than demolish the perfectly sound houses, it was decided – wisely, in my view – to preserve them for use as prison accommodation, separate from but nevertheless within the general prison compound. It was seen as an area in which a small group of prisoners could be held together, if it was judged advantageous in prison management terms to do so.
The Provisional IRA group of prisoners share this area with 14 non-subversive prisoners. Both groups have equal access to facilities, their regimes are identical and there is no question of special facilities and privileges being accorded to any one group.
It was the intention in 1996 that some subversive prisoners from Portlaoise Prison would be transferred to this area in the Castlerea compound. However, the breakdown of the first IRA ceasefire saw this proposal shelved for valid operational reasons. The decision to transfer the Provisional IRA group to Castlerea last December reflected ongoing advances in the peace process.
Some of the descriptions of the accommodation in this area give a misleading impression of luxury and tend to ignore the reality that inmates there, as elsewhere in the prison system, are behind prison walls and in secure custody. Prisoners have access to kitchens in the houses where they prepare their meals or may avail of a communal kitchen and dining area. This is not unusual in the Irish prison context. Virtually all food consumed in our prisons is prepared substantially by prisoners themselves, albeit with considerable staff supervision in the larger units. Each prisoner held in the area referred to by the Deputy may also have access to a card telephone which they use at their own expense.
Each house within the area is self-contained with a kitchen, bathroom and sitting room. Other facilities, separate from the houses, include a visiting unit, a large kitchen and dining hall, a recreation hall and gym, an education unit and workshops and an outdoor recreation area.
There is merit, within any prison system, in having the opportunity of employing and testing different regime options and I would see this particular area and regime option maintaining its place within the system in the longer term.
The transfer to Castlerea of the prisoners referred to by Deputy Higgins, that is, those convicted in connection with the death of Josie Dwyer, has no early release implications whatsoever. These prisoners are not covered by the Good Friday Agreement.
(Mayo): Who made the decision to allow the killers of the drug addict, Josie Dwyer, to be allocated the same special level of accommodation – I know from prison officers that it is special accommodation – as that given to the Provisional IRA prisoners and indeed the murderers of the late Detective Garda Jerry McCabe?
Obviously the decision on the placing of any individual prisoner is related in the first instance to the kind of offence which has been committed. It is also related to where the individual is from, but in this instance it is normally the Prisons Service, through the director of prisons, who makes the decision as to where a given prisoner is located.
(Mayo): It would have to receive the approval of the Minister. The Minister is ultimately responsible.
No.
Mr. Higgins (Mayo): I know the prisoners have call cards but is the Minister aware that there are direct telephone lines into the houses in question and that a newspaper had no problem getting directly through to the prison and talking to Kevin Walsh, one of the murderers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe? Is he aware that these prisoners regularly enjoy chicken curry and fried rice ordered by the prisoners and brought by the prison staff from the Ocean Palace take-away, which says it is doing a roaring trade? Is the Minister aware that the prison officers say it is totally crazy, to use their words, that these Provisional IRA prisoners and the killers of Josie Dwyer are running their own show with very little reference to the prison officers? Is he aware also that they have been assigned special prison officers of their own to ensure that their accommodation is up to standard?
Whatever about chicken curry and rice, I can tell the Deputy that in almost three years as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I have not received any proposal as to where any given prisoner would go on any given day. If it were the case that I were to decide where each individual prisoner went every day, I would be doing little else other than perhaps talking about chicken curry and rice.
(Mayo): The Minister could check the wine list.
With regard to the chicken curry and rice, while we are on the menu, my understanding of the position is that it has been the practice for some years for some prisoners to purchase goods which are over and above what might be available in the tuck shop, as it is known. I understand that a list of items is submitted for purchase and an officer makes the purchase from local shops from time to time where this does not mean inordinate time or inconvenience. Incidentally, that practice has been in place for many years – it is not something which was introduced just yesterday. For example, in the mid-1980s when the Deputy's party was in Government, Chinese meals were supplied to subversive prisoners in Portlaoise Prison on a regular basis.
With regard to the issue of telephones, it is true that the prisoners referred to by Deputy Higgins and held in this compound have access to a call card telephone system in accordance with the rules laid down by the governor. It is similar to the regime which operates in some of the other institutions. I assure the Deputy that there is no free-for-all in relation to the telephones. I understand from the director general of the Prisons Service, to whom I referred earlier, that following a recent review of the call card telephone system at the compound, the telephones in question have been restricted to outgoing calls only. I cannot tell Deputy Higgins whether it is possible with those outgoing calls to order Chinese food but I assure him that these people are held in custody—
(Mayo): We know that.
—behind a large prison wall, and when a person is deprived of his or her liberty, it is a very serious business.
(Mayo): It is a sick joke.
Self-catering accommodation.
