The Department of Justice has ordered an inquiry into the escape of an inmate from St Patrick's Institution in Dublin yesterday, the second prisoner to escape from custody this week.
Stephen Clancy (20), from Clondalkin, serving a nine-month sentence for larceny, absconded at 11 a.m. while working outside the perimeter of the building, next to Mountjoy Prison. Categorised as a low-risk "trustee" prisoner, he was to be released in six weeks.
His escape follows that of Stephen Rock (33), a convicted murderer who absconded from the grounds of Mountjoy Prison on Monday.
The Democratic Left spokeswoman on justice, Ms Liz McManus, said the escape was an extremely serious development. The Fine Gael spokesman, Mr Jim Higgins, accused Mr O'Donoghue of "presiding over a prison system which is in chaos".
