Ireland ‘breaching prisoners’ rights’ by not allowing complaints to be independently investigated

Ireland is breaching human rights by not allowing adult prisoners have complaints independently investigated, according to a leading judge.

Speaking in Dublin at the ‘The Ombudsman behind Bars’ conference, Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, called for the Ombudsman be given the powers to investigate complaints from prisoners. Judge Reilly said that every prisoner had a right under international treaties and United Nations rules to have a complaint independently investigated.

In Ireland, prisoners can make complaints to the Irish Prison Service but there is no external element to the complaints process, which is in breach of the UN’s ‘Mandela Rules’.