Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 December 2004
191 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide a report on the matters surrounding the escape from custody of a dangerous prisoner from Mountjoy while visiting a hospice on 12 December 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34057/04]
View answerEscorts take place outside prison walls for a variety of reasons including visits to hospitals, to court, transfer to other prisons or on humanitarian grounds. Many thousands of escorts take place each year with a significant number of these being for compassionate reasons, such as visiting ill or dying relatives or visits to funeral homes or gravesides. Such releases are extremely important for prisoners and are very rarely abused.
It is the nature of prison escorts that there will always be an element of risk associated with transporting prisoners outside the secure confines of a closed prison. However, it is a very rare occurrence for prisoners to attempt to escape during such escorts. A balance must be struck between security and the need to operate a humanitarian prison system. It is a question of managing the risk involved. This is reflected in the number of prison staff accompanying the prisoner. Obviously, there are other cases where the level of risk dictates refusal of the request. However, requests are accommodated where possible.
Decisions on requests for escorted outings are made, on my behalf, by senior officials in the Irish prison service. In some cases, they may be submitted to me. The incident to which the Deputy refers occurred on Sunday, 12 December 2004. The prisoner had made a request to visit his mother, who was terminally ill, in Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross. An escorted outing was approved on compassionate grounds by a senior official of the Irish prison service. The prisoner visited his mother on Saturday, 11 December 2004 and again the following day as her condition deteriorated. He had also had a previous visit without incident. All visits were accompanied by three prison officers and approval was on the basis that the prisoner was to be handcuffed at all times. During the visit on Sunday at which a prison chaplain was also in attendance, the prisoner escaped from the hospice.
The prisoner was serving sentences totalling ten years for robbery, assault and other offences and was due for release in June 2009. An investigation is being carried out by the governor of Mountjoy prison into the incident. The Deputy will appreciate that I am unable to comment in detail at this stage as the investigation is ongoing and I do not wish to prejudice the outcome or any proceedings that may arise out of the incident. However, initial reports suggest that the prisoner slipped the handcuffs, escaped via a patio door and made his getaway into the grounds before scaling a boundary wall. An officer was injured while in pursuit. Staff contacted the prison, which notified the Garda.
The full report of the investigation into the incident will be forwarded to the director general of the prison service and myself. I fully understand that such incidents cause public concern and, in order to safeguard both the prison staff and the general public, every precaution must be taken to prevent their recurrence.
