Ombudsman criticises jail comments [IrishTimes]
- Published: 01 June 2011
One of the country’s most senior civil servants has been criticised by the Ombudsman for Children over "inappropriate" comments about children in St Patrick's Institution.
Emily Logan claims the secretary general of the Department of Justice misrepresented a scathing report she carried out on 16- and 17-year-old inmates in the jail.
Ms Logan said she was dismayed Seán Aylward told a United Nations committee on torture that her report highlighted the “number of discrepancies between the young people’s perception and the actual reality”.
She described her own visits to St Patrick’s as a chilling experience. “I was concerned that the most senior civil service who oversees that service would say there was a discrepancy between young people’s perception and the reality,” she said.
The Ombudsman said officials should sit up and listen when children talked about being frightened and locked in a protective cell, called a pad, in their underwear for prolonged periods of time.
“I just want to make sure there isn’t a culture where children will express their views and that those views will be dismissed,” said Ms Logan. “I wouldn’t find that acceptable.”
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