MAJOR EMBARRASSMENT FOR MCDOWELL AS BOLIVIAN DRUG DEALER GOES AWOL
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Labour Party Spokesperson on Justice, Brendan Howlin, has said the shambolic state of the country’s prison system has been exposed yet again after a Bolivian cocaine dealer was allowed to escape from Mountjoy Prison while carrying out community work.
Deputy Howlin commented, “Over recent weeks the chaotic state of some of the country’s major prisons has been revealed. First we had prisoners using mobile phones from their cells to call in to national radio programmes then we had the searches at Portlaoise prison that uncovered an immense and bizarre haul of contraband including drugs and alcohol.
“Now a Bolivian man serving an eight year sentence for having his own makeshift cocaine laboratory with intent to supply has escaped when working on a community project.
“If such serious criminals are able to slip their supervisors so easily, what does it say about the state of the prison service in general? For all his tough-talking rhetoric, how many more embarrassments can the Tanaiste and Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, take?
“Surely this litany punctures any vestige of the strong man on justice image Michael McDowell has tried to create for himself over the last to years. His Criminal Justice policies in every area are now threadbare and Michael McDowell needs a long rest and a change of occupation.
“It is clear that all rules and regulations in the country’s prison system have broken down. Both inside and outside the prison walls it is obvious that we need a complete reassessment of the security and supervising of prisoners.”
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