Douch inquiry hit by problems accessing data

Delays in supplying important documentation "prolonged" the Commission of Investigation into the death of prisoner Gary Douch — and many documents were "incomplete, piecemeal and sometimes illegible".

The commission said this explained, to some extent, why the investigation took over seven years to complete.

While the trial of Stephen Egan for the killing of Mr Douch — and a subsequent appeal — caused substantial, and unavoidable delay, the investigation was dogged by problems accessing documents.

Gráinne McMorrow SC was appointed to the commission in June 2007.

By August she sought voluntary disclosure of all relevant material.

But she was forced to issue formal directions for disclosure on a number of occasions, including to the Central Mental Hospital, the Irish Prison Service and particular individuals.

“Despite this, many documents of importance only came to our attention either in an incomplete way or in a piecemeal fashion, out of sync or sequence, sometimes illegible or faint, lacking essential data or without a context that readily identified its significance,” her report said.

“In fact many documents of importance were first disclosed to us only after the circulation of the Draft Report in April 2012. While this is understandable taking account of the multi-agency involvement in the matters under scrutiny and the Commission’s complex terms of reference, not having received all relevant materials at the appropriate time undoubtedly added to and prolonged the Commission’s workload.”

She did not consider there was “any deliberate withholding” of documents.

She added: “The late discovery of additional and sometimes conflicting evidence involved the Commission in the frustrating process of issuing further directions, conducting further investigations and being obliged to revisit certain evidence which in some instances even required further hearings.”

CMH refuses to comment

The Central Mental Hospital has declined to comment on the report of the commission of investigation into the death of Gary Douch.

The report made some criticisms of the CMH as regards the handling of Stephen Egan, including the decision to transfer him from the hospital back to prison, two weeks before he killed Douch in a Mountjoy cell.

Elsewhere, the report acknowledges the “expertise and dedication” of Professor Harry Kenney (CMH clinical director) and the “commitment and work” of two senior psychiatrists.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, a HSE spokeswoman said it did not comment on “individual cases”.

She said: “The HSE continues to work in close collaboration with the Irish Prison Service for the improvement of services for prisoners with mental illness.

“Improvements to date include the development of an award-winning High Support Unit in Mountjoy Prison, enhancement of the High Support Unit in Cloverhill Prison with improvements planned for 2014 including the recruitment of additional multi-disciplinary staff in the Dublin and Midlands Prisons.”