An Irish woman,who says she was forbidden to speak and forced to sleep in a ‘prison-like’ bolted cell during her time at a Magdalene Laundry in Cork, has taken her case to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT).

The UN torture committee has been told of failings in the oversight of Irish prisons, the investigation of complaints of ill treatment and prison healthcare.

A UN panel has begun grilling American officials about the country’s compliance with an anti-torture treaty.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern held firm on the Government’s refusal to hold an independent investigation into CIA-operated flights landing in Ireland and suspected of being involved in illegal rendition.