FIANNA FAIL'S justice spokesman has called for a review of all detention procedures following the escape of a prisoner serving a sentence for kidnapping Mrs Jennifer Guinness 10 years ago.
Mr John O'Donoghue said the escape on Monday of John Cunningham (45) from Shelton Abbey open centre in Arklow, Co Wicklow, undermines public confidence in the criminal justice system.
Cunningham, from Kingswood Heights, Tallaght, was still at large last night. Gardai are searching for him and have circulated his description to all Garda stations.
Cunningham was convicted along with four other men in 1986 for his part in the kidnapping of Mrs Guinness from her home that year.
He walked out of the open centre on Monday morning after serving 10 years of his 17 year sentence.
Shelton Abbey is one of three open centres in the State which operate with minimal internal and perimeter security. It currently has about 43 inmates and is used to house low security male adult prisoners and those who are coming towards the end of their sentences.
It has spacious grounds with full sized playing fields. The daily regime in the three open centres is more relaxed than in closed prisons. From the time they rise until bed time, inmates have practically full time association with access to a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities. The traditional lock up system does not apply. In the open centres, accommodation is in shared bedrooms or dormitories.
Cunningham was transferred to Shelton Abbey from Limerick prison in December 1995 on the recommendation of the Sentence Review Group. His date of release, with normal remission, would have been March 1999.
Mr O'Donoghue last night called on the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, to explain why such an offender was housed in an open detention centre.
"The escape of the man who was responsible for the kidnapping of Jennifer Guinness is an event which only serves to give sustenance to criminals," he said.
"This is, of course, not the first escape of a prisoner from a detention centre this year. We can all too clearly recall, for instance, the 15 year old youth who absconded from a detention while on a supervised trip to a cinema in Dublin over a month ago. Clearly, as we have already demanded, a review of all detention procedures must be urgently initiated by Minister Nora Owen."
Mr O'Donoghue said people would be forgiven for believing that Mrs Owen has replaced the revolving door, with which she has been long associated, with an open door".
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said she could not comment on Cunningham's case or on security at Shelton Abbey. She said the escape last July of the 15 year old convicted of attempted rape was a matter for the Department of Education. The boy was re-arrested less than a week later.
Last April, Thomas Clarke, the Dubliner nicknamed "Bomber" Clarke, escaped from a prison van on the Naas Road, Dublin.