Prison Service chief gets Justice Department job

THE head of the Irish Prison Service has been named as the new secretary general of the Justice Department, one of the most powerful positions in the civil service.

Seán Aylward’s appointment was confirmed yesterday after it was approved by the Cabinet.

He takes over from outgoing secretary general Tim Dalton.

Mr Aylward, who took over as the first director general of the Prison Service following its establishment in 1999, has latterly been embroiled in two bitter disputes with his staff.

Prison doctors are currently striking over pay and services, while negotiations between management and officers, over the scrapping of overtime, are still continuing. He takes over at a crucial time for the Department of Justice as Michael McDowell drives through his reforms of the gardaí and introduces a plethora of legislation, including the Garda Bill and one relating to criminal justice.

A career civil servant, he joined the Department of Defence in the early 1970s and later as Charlie Haughey’s private secretary in 1980/1981 and then again in 1982. He even doubled as a press officer for the then Taoiseach in the days before PJ Mara and the professional spin doctor.