FG calls for urgent inquiry into prison deaths

Fine Gael has called for an urgent, independent investigation into the recent deaths of a number of inmates at Mountjoy prison following two such deaths in a single day yesterday.

Michael Rogers (39), of South Circular Road, Dublin, was found hanging in a protection cell after 3am yesterday. He had been involved in a fight at the jail on Wednesday with a number of men, one of whom is serving life for murder.

John Wallis (21), from Wexford town, fell ill in his cell in the basement area at lunchtime yesterday, reportedly from the effects of illegal drugs. He was taken to the Mater hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4.15pm.

Justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said two deaths in a single day at the prison was a "shocking development", and he sympathised with the families of the men who died.

"The fact that these latest deaths came only three weeks after the murder of Gary Douch indicates that something is seriously wrong in the prison service," Mr O'Keeffe said.

Douch, from Darndale, Dublin, was beaten to death in a holding cell by a 23-year-old inmate with a history of psychiatric illness.

"As prison officers in Mountjoy donned riot gear in the face of rising tensions, Michael McDowell's silence on these issues is strange and worrying. The Minister has also not commented on the publication of several scathing reports on the state of our prisons which said that he and his staff had a 'frightening and fascist' attitude to reform," Mr O'Keeffe said.

"We urgently need an independent investigation into the disturbing events in Mountjoy which should be conducted by the Inspector of Prisons, Judge Dermot Kinlen. I also support Judge Kinlen's call for his office to be made statutory and independent, given the worsening situation in the prisons."

Mr O'Keeffe said the current crisis appears to stem from a combination of overcrowding and the lack of rehabilitation and recreation facilities in Mountjoy and other prisons.

The Green Party said the Minister was trying to "hush up" the prisons report by publishing it "quietly and without comment" on the Department's website.

Justice spokesman Ciaran Cuffe said: "It is interesting to note that the Minister for Justice, who is certainly not known for his shyness in front of the media, released the fourth annual report of the Inspector of Prisons yesterday without comment. Perhaps the Minister has finally realised that the escalating crisis in the Irish prison system has moved beyond his control?"

Mr Cuffe also called for an independent investigation into the death of two inmates in the prison yesterday and said the Minister must present immediate plans to deal with the crisis in the prison system.

"The Prison service is essentially a Victorian model. It needs dramatic and radical change to address the challenges of the twenty-first century. The Minister has failed to recognise the need for root-and-branch reform and in doing so, has failed to provide adequate training, rehabilitation and education for Ireland's prison population."

Mr McDowell has appointed a former senior civil servant at the Department of Justice to investigate the recent death of Gary Douch.

The Department of Justice said yesterday that many of the criticisms levelled at the prison service in reports published yesterday have already been dealt with.