PRISON officers have defended the way open prisons are run following the escape of John Cunningham, convicted of kidnapping Mrs Jennifer Guinness in 1986.
Mr Tom Hoare, spokesman for the Prison Officers Association, said it was concerned by calls from politicians, "some of whom should know better", for a review of the open prison system.
He said the POA had "no public safety concerns" about the system, which was a well established method of reintegrating prisoners into society before their final release.
Cunningham (45) left Shelton Abbey open prison in Co Wicklow last Monday. The Fianna Fail spokesman on justice, Mr John O'Donoghue, said a review of all detention procedures was needed.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, said security at such prisons was being reviewed but because they were open prisons, it was difficult to deter those determined to abscond.
Mr Hoare said open prisons were based on supervision rather than security, and prisoners nearing the end of their sentences were sent to them on the basis of trust. There was an "acceptable risk" involved. On some occasions the trust would be breached, but every prisoner sent to Shelton Abbey was assessed by the Sentence Review Board beforehand. He said the open prison regime was a sensible way to bring "some sort of normality" to a prisoner's life before final release.
The Department of Justice is investigating the circumstances of Cunningham's escape last Monday. The previous day he and another prisoner were seen with a prison officer in a bar in the Valley Hotel, Avoca. The prison officer, who has been suspended from duty while the matter is investigated, has said he encountered the prisoners in the bar and was taking them back to Shelton Abbey.
Cunningham is believed to have absconded after the hotel incident because he feared he would be returned to Limerick Prison, and that permission for him to attend his daughter's wedding last Saturday would be withdrawn.
On Saturday, Ms Caroline Cunningham (22) married Mr Jimmy Connolly (50) at Saggart, Co Dublin. Detectives kept a close eye on proceedings but Mr Cunningham did not appear.