I propose to answer Question No. 8 and Priority Questions Nos. 33 and 34 together.
Arising from an incident in Portlaoise Prison on 18 May 1988, which occurred when a prisoner was being discharged, an investigation is at present being conducted by my Department. This investigation is concerned with allegations which were made in relation to duty performance at the time of the incident in question and it will of necessity have to go into considerable detail in relation to what occurred.
In the light of the information available in the immediate wake of the incident concerned, it was decided that the suspension of an assistant chief officer was warranted, pending further investigation. It was decided last week, in the light of further information obtained in the course of the investigation, that that suspension should be lifted. Accordingly the officer in question resumed duty with effect from 18 June. This resumption is without prejudice to any action that may be required on the basis of the findings of the investigation which is continuing.
As the investigation is still in progress it would not be appropriate for me at this stage to comment further on events which took place at the prison that morning. The House will appreciate that, in view of my statutory role as Minister for Justice in relation to prison disciplinary matters, I cannot, with propriety, make any comment which might carry with it the danger of prejudging matters upon which I could be called to adjudicate in the context of disciplinary proceedings. There is, of course, the further point that in the interests of security there are severe constraints on what I could properly disclose in relation to security arrangements at the prison.
I can assure the House, however, that appropriate arrangements exist to ensure proper liaison between all the security services at the prison. Prison staff receive instructions both by way of formal governor's orders and through "on-the-spot" instructions from supervisory staff. I think the House will accept that it would not be in the interests of security to reveal in any detail the instructions under which any of the security services at the prison operate.