Fears over prisoner complaints system

Powerful prison gangs and mischievous inmates could paralyse the Irish Prison Service by abusing new complaints procedures to be introduced in October, the Irish Prison Officers’ Association (IPOA) have claimed.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter is to introduce a more robust system to probe complaints against prison staff by inmates. The four- tier system follows a report on the issue by the inspector of prisons, Judge Michael Reilly.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust and the IPOA say an independent ombudsman would be a fairer system.