Public Accounts Committee to examine prisons spending

Scheduled witnesses include

• Aidan O’Driscoll, the new Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality, and
• Caron McCaffrey, the new Director General of the Irish Prison Service.

“The Committee has many questions about the figures reported in the 2017 Appropriation Account for the Irish Prison Service,” said Committee Chairman Seán Fleming TD.

“The Committee is concerned by the volume and level of compensation payouts being made to prisoners, staff and members of the public and the factors driving these costs. We will want to know what procedures are in place to minimise these incidents in the future,” Deputy Fleming said. “In many cases the legal costs being borne by the taxpayer appear to be disproportionately high in comparison with the size of compensation awards themselves.”

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live here.