The civil servant who wrote the report on the Sheedy case for the Government has been appointed head of the new independent Prison Authority.
Mr Sean Aylward, assistant secretary at the Department of Justice and Law Reform, was named yesterday as the successful applicant for the post of director of the authority, at a salary of £81,000. The new authority will oversee the transition of control of the prisons from the Justice Department.
Last year the Government announced the setting up of an interim prisons board, and Mr Aylward (43) will have responsibility for reporting to the board and the Minister for Justice, although with independent authority to run to prison system.
He has worked as a principal officer in the prisons section of the Department and has experience in Garda affairs and Anglo-Irish and extradition matters. He served in the Taoiseach's private office, working with Mr Jack Lynch and Mr Charles Haughey before moving to Trade and Industry, and joined the Department in 1985 as a principal officer after a civil service competition.
While he has recently been assistant secretary with responsibility for immigrants, he oversaw the setting up of the new Courts Authority and, in this role, had responsibility for the handling of the Sheedy case. He, along with two principals, signed the report on the affair which made several recommendations about reform of the court system.