Vol. 513 No. 4
95 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the investigation, if any, being held into the recent assault in Limerick Prison on a prison officer in which he received serious injuries; the steps, if any, being taken to provide additional protection for prison officers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2519/00]
Two investigations are under way into the incident – an internal investigation by the Governor of Limerick Prison and a Garda investigation. As the two investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further at this stage. I would request and strongly advise the House that we should avoid, at this time, getting into further detail about the incident and the person or persons allegedly involved as this could subsequently be deemed prejudicial to ongoing investigations and to have tainted any subsequent court proceedings that might arise.
Arising from the incident an internal group comprised of management and staff in Limerick Prison has been established. This group will review, inter alia, the issues of redeployment of staff and the implementation of prison procedure guidelines with the aim of reducing the risk of such an incident recurring. This group will report through the Governor to the Director General of the Prisons Service later this month. A number of additional temporary posts which were established after the incident will be reviewed in the light of the review group's report.
