Conditions in Mountjoy criticised

Parts of Mountjoy Prison were being sprayed twice a week to keep mice and cockroaches at bay, Labour's justice spokesman, Brendan Howlin, told the Dáil. "Overcrowding is such that a man [ Gary Douch] who asked for protection was brutally murdered after being put into a cell with six other prisoners, including one who had recently arrived from the Central Mental Hospital," Mr Howlin said.

He added that the violence in Mountjoy over the summer had included two deaths in 12 hours and four stabbings in three weeks.

Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said he agreed that the death of Gary Douch was an appalling event. The circumstances in which he had died were not defensible.

"For that reason, I asked Mr Michael Mellet, who is secretary-general of the International Monitoring Commission . . . to compile a full report. He is currently examining a number of issues while awaiting the pathologist's report and information on decisions made in the Central Mental Hospital which resulted in the transfer of the apparent assailant to the prison . . ." Mr McDowell said. "I will take appropriate action to ensure that such events do not recur."

He added: "I have got rid of the padded cells and I have replaced them with modern state-of-the-art observation cells where people are held in humane circumstances."