The former secretary general of the Department of Justice, Seán Aylward (above), has been elected as Ireland’s representative on the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture. The body examines detention conditions in institutions in member countries.
Mr Aylward was head of the prison service in Ireland prior to his appointment as secretary general of the Department of Justice, from which he retired last July. He was eligible for a full pension of half his salary of €214,187 and a lump sum of €321,280.
….His election will cause some surprise as he was not recommended as its first choice by the Council of Europe Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee.
….“I am surprised and disappointed by the decision,” said Co Clare Labour TD Michael McNamara, one of the Irish parliamentary representatives on the Council of Europe. He told The Irish Times he had argued before the human rights committee that one of the two non-governmental nominees should be recommended. He pointed out Mr Aylward, as secretary of the Department of Justice, has robustly defended Ireland’s record on detention before various international human rights bodies.
“There are too many senior civil servants retiring on considerable pensions being taken back into these institutions,” Mr McNamara said.