Phone recordings ‘an embarrassment’ for prison chief
He said there were “implications” for prisoner rights and solicitor-client privilege but said no one outside the prison system had access to the recordings.
However, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) said there had to be a comprehensive investigation and called on the Prison Service to apologise to those affected.
The Prison Service released details on Tuesday night which said a total of 139 prisoners have had recordings with a solicitor “inadvertently recorded”.
This happened in situations where inmates had more than one solicitor. Phone calls between a prisoner and a named solicitor are routed through a dedicated channel and are not recorded.
But where inmates have two or more solicitors, they are contacted on general lines, which are recorded.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny revealed the issue in the Dáil on Tuesday, at which point he said 84 prisoners had been affected. The Prison Service statement identified a further 55. It said a total of 2,482 such calls had been recorded and that 1,749 related to the 139 inmates. The rest are thought to be released prisoners. It said 81 of the calls had been accessed by staff.
“This is clearly an embarrassment for me,” said Mr Donnellan. “This is a serious incident for the Irish Prison Service. It was an error, a genuine error.”
He said there were no “third-party implications” as none of the recordings went outside the Prison Service. “There are implications for prisoner rights, solicitor-client privilege and these are issues I’m dealing with.”
IPRT director Deirdre Malone said recording such phone calls breached European and domestic laws and raised issues regarding the right to a fair trial. She called for a “comprehensive investigation” into the recordings.
“Following the outcome of that investigation, a clear plan must be put in place to ensure that this never happens again, given the fundamental rights involved and the vulnerability of those affected,” she added.
“While we welcome the preemptive action taken by the Irish Prison Service, questions remain over how this issue could have not been brought to light over four years.”
Last night, Alan Shatter, the justice minister, called on the inspector of prisons to carry out an investigation into the matter.
“The inspector has been asked to carry out his investigation pursuant to section 31 of the Prisons Act, 2007 and to submit his report to me as soon as possible. The inspector’s report will be published.”
A legal expert said the significance of the Garda tapes “should have been appreciated” when the order for discovery of documents was made in the Ian Bailey case in May 2013.
Professor Dermot Walsh said the March 10 letter of former Garda commissioner Martin Callinan and the report of the secretary general of the Department of Justice Brian Purcell were “extremely coy” about what was recorded.
He said the “clear implication” was that they could include matters relevant to a criminal investigation.
Prof Walsh said the problem of recording should have been appreciated “at the very least by the commissioner” when a court order was made in May 2013 for discovery. He said it was “interesting” that in November 2013 the attorney general was “content for the matter to be dealt with internally between the Garda and her office”.
“Clearly there was evidence here of possible unlawful practice, including perhaps interference with the administration of justice.”
He said it would have been “more appropriate” to him to investigate the matter through a request to the Garda ombudsman to conduct a public interest inquiry, or to request the minister set up an independent inquiry.
