Gay Mitchell
Question:356 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will have the complaint of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7 independently investigated. [6374/02]
Written Answers. - Prisoner Complaints.
This person is serving a five year prison sentence, with the last year suspended, for an assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He is also serving a three and a half year sentence for handling stolen property.
This offender has made repeated complaints about the way he perceives he has been treated by the authorities, in particular the Irish Prison Service. The allegations of ill-treatment in Wheatfield Prison on 27 October 2000 have been investigated thoroughly by the governor of that institution who concluded that these allegations were unfounded. In this regard, statements were made by a number of prison officers, all of whom were either not aware of, or deny the allegations made by the prisoner and his family. During the course of the investigation, a security camera video tape of the alleged incident was examined and, despite the allegations, there is no evidence of aggressive behaviour by any of the prison officers present.
This matter was also investigated by gardaí at Ronanstown Garda station and a file was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. No prosecution ensued.
The offender's other complaints have similarly been investigated by prison management and have also proved to be either without substance or trivial in nature. For example, in November and December 2000, this offender made 30 complaints regarding ill treatment during his time in custody to the visiting committee in Mountjoy Prison. Each of these complaints, which included accusations that his newspapers had gone missing and that the prison library had refused to make photocopies for him, were fully investigated and a report was sent back to the visiting committee.