Prisoner claims Department of Justice breached his confidentiality by sharing letter on alleged abuse

Paschal Kelly said he had assumed his correspondence 'was a protected letter and the IPS and Wheatfield Prison had no way of seeing this letter'. Picture: Padraig O'Reilly

An inmate who alleged he was sexually abused by a prison psychologist says the Department of Justice breached his confidentiality by sharing a letter meant for Justice Minister Helen McEntee with the Irish Prison Service.

Career criminal Paschal Kelly, who is currently serving 18 years at Wheatfield Prison in Dublin for the 2014 tiger kidnapping of a postmistress, wrote to Ms McEntee last March detailing the alleged abuse he had suffered at the hands of the psychologist over an 18-month period across 2021 and 2022.

In that letter, Kelly said he also complained of being sent to Cork Prison for several months after the abuse first came to light, and alleged he had been “refused access to the psychological support that I needed”.

He claims his initial letter was written under the auspices of Prisons Rule 44, which states a letter from a prisoner to the minister “shall be sent to that person or body without delay and shall not be opened before it is so sent”.

In the department’s reply to Kelly, which was written more than a month later in late April, an official said the Irish Prison Service was “the competent authority responsible for sentence management and related operational matters” and that, “to be of assistance”, they had shared a copy of Kelly’s initial letter with the IPS.

“I can be of no further assistance at this time,” the official added.

High Court action

Kelly has since filed a High Court action against the IPS and the minister, seeking damages for personal injuries, particularly psychological injuries, and for breach of his constitutional personal rights as a result of the “breach of trust” the alleged abuse comprised.

Of the fact his letter was shared with the IPS without his prior knowledge, Kelly said he had assumed his correspondence “was a protected letter and the IPS and Wheatfield Prison had no way of seeing this letter”.

“I was under the assumption that it was safe for me to send this letter to the minister for justice, but instead the Department of Justice forwarded on my letter to Wheatfield Prison, leaving me exposed to more abuse on top of the abuse I am already receiving,” he said.

Kelly’s suit against the IPS and the minister alleges he was abused by his prison psychologist who had been assigned to treat his claims of historic mental health issues.

The Irish Examiner previously reported the psychologist in question is now working for the HSE.

It is understood the health service was not aware the female psychologist was facing sex abuse allegations when she was offered the position in late 2022.

The Department of Justice said it did not comment on individual cases, but added: "Rule 44 provides that a prisoner is entitled to send and receive correspondence to a number of listed persons or bodies, including the minister for justice. Rule 44 provides that such letters are not opened by prison staff prior to being sent to their intended recipient.

"Where a letter is received under Rule 44, it is reviewed and, where necessary, shared with officers of the minister in order to obtain the information required to respond to the issues raised. The Irish Prison Service is an office of the department and employees of the service are officers of the minister. 

As such, Rule 44 letters are shared with the office of the director general of the Irish Prison Service if information is required from that office to respond to the issues raised.

"Responses issued by the department to Rule 44 letters are clearly marked as such to ensure that they are handled appropriately by prison staff."