IT WAS unacceptable that towels rather than dressing gowns were made available to female prisoners during a search last year in the Dóchas Centre prison in Dublin, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said.

“I am informed that procedures are now in place which respect the dignity of the prisoner and ensure that searches are conducted in a professional manner by the staff involved and I expect those procedures to be fully complied with,” he added.

Jonathan O’Brien (Sinn Féin) said that the prison visitors’ report for last year had used words such as “unnecessary”, “humiliating” and “degrading”.

Clare Daly (Socialist Party) said a fundamental human rights issue was involved.

“The revelations in the report about practices in the women’s prison are very worrying,” Ms Daly added.

“They indicate a move away from the ethos which used to prevail of a progressive and rehabilitative outlook to one which is more punitive.”

Mr Shatter said the search had taken place on November 9th last year, before his appointment as Minister.

It was a targeted search for contraband undertaken by staff from the operational support group made up of staff drawn from a number of prisons.

The function of the male officers, said Mr Shatter, was to search areas of the Dóchas Centre where female prisoners were not present, including prisoners’ rooms, recreational areas, visiting areas, the rooftop, workshops, the school and the yard.

All prisoners were brought to the reception by Dóchas Centre staff to be searched.

“Two female assistant chief officers attached to the Dóchas Centre supervised the operation while prisoners were coming and going from the area,” the Minister added.

“I have been assured that all other staff in the area were female and attached to the Dóchas Centre.”

The search teams confiscated items which included scissors, screwdrivers, pliers, drugs, mobile phones, phone chargers, a syringe, a metal comb with a sharpened end, alcohol and various other contraband items, Mr Shatter added.