THE Association of Higher Civil Servants says the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, is being "scapegoated" over the administrative error that led to the recent release and rearrest of 16 high-security prisoners.
The Fianna Fail spokesman on labour affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, said later, however, he was "outraged at the unwarranted interference" of the AHCS in a political controversy.
He asked who in the AHCS had authorised the statement, as he understood the general secretary, Mr Sean O Riordain, was out of the country. The statement was "unprecedented", Mr Kitt said. "The union did not comment, for instance, on the inadequate staffing at the Attorney General's office during the Brendan Smyth affair." The union's interventions in the current controversy "is totally unacceptable and can only damage the reputation for political impartiality for which the Irish Civil Service is justifiably renowned.
The association said earlier, in an unsigned statement from its offices, that staffing in the Department of Justice had reached a point "where _it is virtually impossible to provide a service they can stand over to any Minister".
There was "constant pressure on a very small number of officials, who are stretched to breaking point and beyond in coping with very high-profile issues
The association welcomed the establishment of an independent inquiry. Mr O Riordain, only return to Ireland late yesterday, and said he was making contact with AHCS members.
