(Mayo): People were appalled and shocked to hear on the news headlines this morning of the savage attack on a nun in the course of her chaplaincy duties at Wheatfield Prison. The immediate reaction is: how could this happen? Here we have a nun, obviously on a mission of compassion, in one of the State's high security prisons viciously assaulted in the course of her humanitarian work. While anybody can appreciate that there is never a guarantee that a spontaneous attack cannot occur at times in unlikely circumstances, in the circumstances in which this attack occurred it was not improbable. The criminal track record of the individual who made the attack pointed clearly to him being an extremely dangerous individual who had absolutely no remorse for his previous serious crimes.
There was, therefore, every possibility that given the right circumstances he would strike again. The individual in question was sentenced in 1987 to 20 years in prison, which was the longest jail sentence for rape in the history of the State. The man was convicted of dragging a young woman onto waste ground near Dublin city centre and viciously raping her. The offence took place while the accused was on temporary release from prison. He had earlier managed to abscond from the care of a probation officer. In 1989 the same individual was given a concurrent ten year prison sentence for attempted murder. In June 1989 he was given an eight year concurrent sentence for the rape of a fellow prisoner in Arbour Hill two years previously.
The next question is how, given the man's criminal pedigree, could an assault of this nature be allowed to happen? The prison system is unique in that it has the most favourable staff-prisoner ratio in the world. There is one prison officer to every prisoner. There are very strict guidelines for prison visits by professional personnel with offenders sentenced for violent crimes. Such visits are supposed to be supervised by prison officers, the arrangement being within sight but out of earshot. However, in this case this guideline was seemingly not observed.
It is reported that the nun was in the cell with the prisoner on her own. Can the Minister confirm this? Likewise, can the Minister confirm whether the cell door was closed? Can he confirm how proximate was the prison officer who was assigned to supervise this visit at the time the attack took place? I would also like to know the detail of the attack, how physical was it and what injuries, if any, were inflicted on the victim?
What must be a major cause of concern is that the prisoner was in possession of a knife. Can the Minister confirm whether the prisoner's cell was searched in advance and, if not, why not? A well-known high risk prisoner, a convicted double rapist and an attempted murderer, was able to come into possession of a knife in the segregation unit of a so-called high security prison. Has the Minister established how the security lapse occurred, how the individual came into possession of the knife and has the knife been recovered?
It is obvious that there is a real security issue at Wheatfield and, indeed, several other prisons. Drugs are smuggled in on a daily basis. If drugs can be smuggled in, knives and guns can be smuggled in also. To an extent, it was sheer luck that there was not a fatality in this case. There should be no need for a prolonged inquiry. It should be possible to establish the facts quickly and to take decisive action to ensure that there is no recurrence.
