Garda Headquarters has confirmed it is investigating allegations of covert surveillance, the use of a tracker device and the alleged recording of conversations between inmates and solicitors at the Irish Prison Service.
The Minister for Justice said this evening that gardaí will co-ordinate with the Inspector of Prisons who is carrying out an urgent preliminary statutory investigation to determine as far as possible the facts.
Charlie Flanagan said that the Prisons Act provides that governors, prison officers and others employed in the prisons comply with any request for information and the Inspector will have full access to relevant documentation and personnel.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The Minister also stressed that the veracity of the allegations, which principally concern the actions of prison officers and authorities within the prison system, has to be established.
The Inspector will also investigate allegations of payments to third parties for surveillance.
The allegations are contained in a High Court affidavit in a case related to the proposed transfer of a prison officer by the Irish Prison Service.
It commenced last month and is due again before the High Court in January.
The minister was in Mullingar to attend the reopening of the court house with the Chief Justice Mr Justice Frank Clarke.
