30 Jan 2013, 15:38
The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement will tomorrow meet with Pauline McCabe, the Prisoner Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.
30 January 2013
The Committee will discuss the rights of prisoners in Northern Ireland prisons with Ms McCabe.
The role of the Ombudsman's office is to investigate:
- Complaints from prisoners held in Northern Ireland
- Visitors to prisoners held in Northern Ireland
- Deaths in Prison Service custody in Northern Ireland
The Prisoner Ombudsman is appointed by the Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland and is completely independent of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.
Chairman of the Committee Joe McHugh TD, says: “The rights of prisoners is an issue of ongoing concern for Committee Members. Our Committee looks forward to engaging with Ms McCabe on the work of her office. It is a challenging but indispensable role within the Northern Ireland penal system. While we understand that she will not be in a position to detail specific cases, the meeting will be a valuable opportunity to assess the current conditions prevailing in Northern Ireland prisons.
The meeting commences at 11 a.m. tomorrow Thursday 31 January in committee room 4, LH 2000. Committee proceedings can be viewed online via this
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Ends
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +3531 618 4484
M: +353 87 694 9926
F: +3531 618 4551
paul.hand@oireachtas.ie
Members of the Committee:
Deputies Seán Conlan, Seán Crowe, Clare Daly, Regina Doherty, Peter Fitzpatrick, Frank Feighan, Martin Ferris, Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Peter Fitzpatrick, Michael P. Kitt, Joe McHugh, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Joe O’Reilly, Brendan Smith and Joanna Tuffy.
Senators Jim D’Arcy, Maurice Cummins, Martin McAleese, Mary Moran, Mary White.
Chairman: Joe McHugh, TD Vice-Chairman: Joe O'Reilly, TD