Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 January 2018
545. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the reason the findings of an investigation (details supplied) initiated by a former Minister for Justice have not been provided to all parties as promised once civil litigation concluded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55024/17]
View answerI am advised by the Irish Prison Service that In June 2010, the then Director General of the Irish Prison Service commissioned an external enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the removal from prison of the person referred to in the Parliamentary Question.
The enquiry was carried out by a retired Prison Governor and a retired Garda Superintendent. Their operational report was submitted to the then Director General in 2011. The terms of reference did not provide for the publication of the report.
The Director General subsequently reviewed the report and considered it incomplete as there were a number of legal and procedural issues identified with the operational report. A second external investigator was appointed in an attempt to bring this enquiry to a conclusion.
Subsequently the second external investigator advised the Director General that it would not be possible to conclude the enquiry without re-interviewing all of the witnesses. He further advised that this approach would not be practical or feasible. In the circumstances, therefore, it has not been possible to provide a copy of the findings of the investigation to all parties as it was decided that the matter could not be brought to a satisfactory conclusion in light of the report from the investigator.
