FF call for mandatory prison time in assault of prison service following Tallaght escape

Fianna Fáil is calling for minimum mandatory sentences for those convicted of assaulting members of the prison service.

It comes as gardaí hunt a prisoner who stabbed two prison officers and escaped, during a visit to Tallaght hospital in Dublin yesterday.

One prison officer underwent emergency surgery after he was stabbed in the stomach, the second officer was wounded in the hand.

The escaped prisoner has been named as 53-year-old Derek Brockwell, who has been described as extremely dangerous.

Fianna Fail's Justice Spokesman Niall Collins said frontline workers need new legislation to protect them from violent attacks.

"The men and women who work in An Garda Síochána, who work in the prison service, who work in our emergency departments [are] being attacked by out of control members of the public every single day of the week.

"We're seeking in this legislation to build in an added deterrent when people are working on behalf of the state, on the front line, that they won't be assaulted while they're going about their day's work."