What an extraordinary attack Justice Minister Michael McDowell launched at the Inspector of Prisons, retired High Court judge Dermot Kinlen, in a radio interview at the weekend.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust has called on the Government to rule out the privatisation of any prisons in Ireland.

THE Inspector of Prisons, Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen, has delivered a scathing attack on the Government for its failure to support his office and act on his complaints about prison conditions.