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David Hurley, 16 Jun
A TRAINEE Prison Officer from County Limerick has secured a temporary
High Court injunction restraining his dismissal from his employment
over alleged serious misconduct.
The interim injunction was made in favour of Eddie Campbell who had
been the subject of disciplinary proceedings after bags allegedly
containing traces of an illegal drug were found in a room, he had
occupied a week earlier.
The court heard the Irish Prison Service has informed him that his
employment is to be terminated later this month, arising out of
findings made against him following internal disciplinary hearings.
The allegations against him include that on a date in June 2022 three
plastic bags, containing a powdery substance were found in a room in a
building used to house trainee prison officers at Portlaoise Prison
that he had occupied several days previously.
Mr Campbell vehemently denies any wrong-doing and says that both the
decision to dismiss him and the disciplinary process he underwent are
unfair.
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Missing Limerick woman located safe and well
His lawyers say he has come to the High Court seeking orders "as a last
resort" to challenge the disciplinary process, that was conducted in
breach of fair and proper procedures.
The injunction was granted, on an ex-parte (one side only) basis,
against the Irish Prison Service, the Minister for Justice, Ireland and
the Attorney General by Ms Justice Siobhan Stack this Friday afternoon.
The judge commented that the threshold for granting such orders in
employment cases was high.
However, she said based on the evidence put before the court that
threshold had been met by the applicant.
Pearse Sreenan SC instructed by Frank Buttimer solicitors said Mr
Campell commenced working for the Irish prison service as a recruit
Prison Officer on a 12-month probationary contract in April 2022.
He said he passed all his reviews without incident or complaint and is
staunchly opposed to drug taking.
Counsel said the disciplinary process his client underwent arising out
of the discovery of the plastic bags is "full of inconsistencies" and
procedural flaws.
One major flaw counsel said is that the plastic bags found in the room
were never fingerprinted.
While the bags were sent to a forensic lab, and the matter reported to
gardai, counsel said his client is not facing any criminal charges and
there is a high degree of uncertainty if traces of any illegal
substances were found in the bags.
His client's offer to undergo drug testing has not been taken up by the
prison service, counsel added.
Mr Sreenan said the rooms his client and other trainees are housed in
at Portlaoise are regularly inspected by the IPS and the corridors are
monitored by round-the-clock CCTV.
His client, he added, had not been given the CCTV footage from the
several days after the plaintiff had left the room to the the time when
the bags were discovered by the authorities.
All Mr Campbell was told by the prison services was that the CCTV had
been inspected by one of its officers, and that there was "nothing of
interest there."
Counsel said his client would like to view the images himself.
All his client was furnished with are images around an eight-minute
period when another trainee officer entered the room, when Mr Campbell
was there.
The court heard, there was also a lack of electronic records available
to Mr Campbell concerning the use of the room following his departure
from it or if the room was locked during that relevant period.
Counsel also said that there was a lack of written statements from
other parties and witnesses in the disciplinary process, which he said
was surprising.
In a sworn statement to the court Mr Campbell, who is aged in his
mid-twenties, said that he is hugely concerned about his reputation if
he is dismissed.