15th June 2004
528. Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will provide details of allegations of misconduct made by prisoners in the women's wing of Limerick Prison against the prison staff, including the number of allegations, the nature of the allegations, whether investigations have been carried out by a neutral third party and the outcomes of these investigations since January 2000. [17780/04]
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell): I am informed by the director general of the Prison Service that allegations by two prisoners in the female section of Limerick Prison - that they were sexually assaulted by a named prison officer - were investigated fully by prison management and independently by the Garda, which found that the claims were unfounded. The allegations were made against two individual officers in separate incidents. I also understand that one of the complainants subsequently admitted to the Garda that she had made a false allegation to secure a transfer back to a Dublin prison or a release from custody early in her sentence. The person was no longer in prison custody when she withdrew her allegation.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.