ALL DEATHS in prison custody will for the first time be independently investigated and reports into the fatalities will be published.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust has welcomed the move but has questioned if it goes far enough.
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has announced that the Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, has been asked to carry out independent investigations into all prison deaths.
These will be carried out whether the prisoner has died of natural causes, been murdered in jail or died from a drug overdose or another cause.
The move comes just weeks after Northern Ireland’s Prisoner Ombudsman Pauline McCabe said the lack of independent investigations into deaths in prison custody in the Republic meant the prison system was not learning and reforming following deaths.
In an interview with The Irish Times, she also said the absence of independent investigations with published reports undermined transparency and meant the serious shortcomings of the prison service were not being publicised.
The record of the prison service in investigating deaths in custody has been poor. When efforts have been made by government to progress the issue, the results have been less than spectacular.
Almost five years after a commission of investigation was set up to examine the killing of prisoner Gary Douche in Mountjoy, Dublin, no report has been released.
Mr Shatter’s office recently declined to say if the State was still funding the commission, stating: “It is understood that the commission is finalising its draft report”.
Yesterday Mr Shatter said Judge Reilly would not only investigate deaths in custody, but also the deaths of those who had just been freed on temporary release. He said the investigations would in no way prejudice existing ones carried out by the Garda or the coroners’ inquest process.
“Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done,” Mr Shatter said. “There can be no questions left unanswered when a person in State custody dies.
“The independence and track record of the inspector speaks for itself and I am confident that the Irish Prison Service and other relevant public sector agencies will co-operate with and indeed welcome the inspector’s involvement in this area.”
Liam Herrick of the Penal Reform Trust welcomed the new plans, saying his organisation had campaigned for years for the inquiries. He also welcomed the fact that families of the deceased would be included in the process and that reports into the deaths would be published.
However, he believed the structure of the new inquiries may not go far enough to satisfy all of the requirements of article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
