There is no independent inspection in Ireland of a range of detention facilities, including Garda stations, prisoner transport and immigration units, according to an expert report.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission called on the Government to implement a UN protocol against torture, which it signed 10 years ago, which would oblige it to set up such a system. A report, conducted by human rights experts from the University of Bristol for the commission, said the most significant gap in Ireland on the monitoring of places of detention was garda stations. The transport of inmates between prisons and courts, and court cells, were also not monitored.
The UN Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture was signed on October 2, 2007, but has still not been ratified into Irish law.
It requires states to set up or designate National Preventative Mechanisms — independent visiting bodies with unfettered access to places of detection.
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