Inquiry urged after second prisoner escapes

The Labour Party demanded an inquiry yesterday following the second escape by a prisoner in transit in just over a week.

Mr Adrian Duke (29), from Farranree, Cork city, escaped on Thursday after an armed gang intercepted the minibus in which he was travelling from Waterford to Cork, smashed the windows and demanded his release.

He was the second prisoner in eight days to escape while in transit. Patrick Brassil fled at a petrol station in Rathcoole, Co Dublin, on Thursday of last week after holding a blood-filled syringe to the neck of a prison officer. He was being taken from Mountjoy to Cork.

A spokesman for the Prisons Service said a review of escort arrangements was being carried out by senior management as a result of that incident. He pointed out, however, that escapes were rare, given that up to 500 prisoners were transferred from one location to another each day.

Labour's justice spokesman, Mr Brendan Howlin, said an inquiry should be ordered by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, into the "breakdown of security procedures" for the transport of prisoners. He said there had been an "apparent breakdown of communication" between the Prisons Service and the Garda over the status of Mr Duke.

Brassil was rearrested last Tuesday, but Mr Duke remained at large yesterday despite a number of house searches by gardai in Waterford and Cork.

Supt Michael McGarry issued a renewed appeal for anyone with information about the circumstances of Mr Duke's escape to contact the Garda.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) yesterday demanded that the use of taxis to escort prisoners be reviewed.

The POA said its health and safety officer, Mr Derek Murphy, had advised staff in Cork to restrict the use of private transport "pending an in-depth investigation of these incidents". It added: "Discussions should take place locally on each escort."

Mr Duke was one of two prisoners being taken from Waterford to Cork Prison in a privately-owned minibus. The men were each handcuffed to a prison officer and there was a third prison officer in the vehicle as well as the civilian driver.

About four miles outside Waterford on the main Cork road, shortly before 6 p.m., the minibus was overtaken by a red Opel Vectra which pulled in sharply in front of it, forcing it to stop. At least two men, wearing balaclavas and armed with what appeared to be a handgun and other implements, smashed the bus window and demanded Mr Duke's release. The driver remained in the car.

The second prisoner, who had received a custodial sentence at Waterford District Court, remained in the minibus. Mr Duke was released and the men made their getaway in the car, which was subsequently found on the outskirts of Waterford city.

Supt McGarry asked anyone who was on the Cork road at Butlerstown or in the Green Road area at around 6 p.m. on Thursday to contact Waterford station at 051-874888, or the Garda confidential number, 1800-666111.

Mr Duke is described as 6ft, 1ins, with short black hair and of slim build. At the time of the escape he was wearing a beige short jacket, jeans and runners.

From next Monday the High Court will deal with bail applications each Monday at Cloverhill Courthouse, in the grounds of Cloverhill Remand Prison, Cloverhill Road, Dublin.

Prisoners will not have to be taken to city-centre courts for bail applications.