The director general of the Irish Prison Service has ordered an investigation into how a prisoner was released from Mountjoy Prison by mistake on Wednesday.
Brian Purcell ordered the investigation yesterday after Mark Kenny (35), who was serving a six-year sentence for robbery, was released instead of another prisoner with the same name.
The prisoner, who is originally from Ballyfermot in Dublin, was not due to be released until 2010. He was let out instead of another Mark Kenny, who was serving a short sentence for traffic violations and was due for temporary release.
The error was discovered at about 5pm on Wednesday, just 20 minutes after the wrong prisoner had been released. Gardaí were notified immediately but were still searching for him last night.
Mr Purcell yesterday instructed prison governor John Lonergan to carry out an investigation as a matter of urgency.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Prison Service said Mr Purcell would brief Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan when he received Mr Lonergan's report, before considering what action should be taken.
The incident is the latest in a number of recent high-profile security lapses, which began when a prisoner called a national radio programme on a mobile phone from his cell in Portlaoise Prison last month. Following the incident, prison officers recovered 17 mobile phones, 11 phone chargers, eight batteries, five sim cards, drugs, syringes, home-made alcohol and two budgies during a search of the prison.
A Bolivian drug dealer then absconded from Mountjoy. Juan Carlos Melgar Alba (42) was part of a prison work party which was on temporary release to help build a community centre in Ballymun, Dublin. He was serving an eight-year sentence and was not due for release until July 2009.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said the latest incident "beggars belief". "The prison system is in an appalling state and it looks like it's going to get worse. It is incredible to think that a serious armed robber can be confused with a minor offender because they share the same name."
Labour's justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said the mistake was the latest in a line of incidents that had exposed the "shambolic state" of the prison system.
"We must also ask ourselves what this sad litany of events says about the Irish prison service."
Mr O'Keeffe and Mr Howlin said procedures needed to be put in place to ensure the situation was not repeated.