Courts / Cork / Report
Ex-prisoner who ran out of time for slopping-out claim fails in review bid
Summary
John O'Brien, aged 31, challenged a decision that denied him access to a State Claims Agency compensation scheme for the "slopping‑out" regime he endured while imprisoned in Cork between March 2013 and April 2014. He alleged that he was forced to urinate and defecate into a bucket in his cell, sometimes in front of other inmates, and then "slop out" the contents in the morning when the cell door opened. O'Brien claimed this practice breached Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and was unconstitutional under Irish law. He applied for compensation in November 2020 and formally in March 2021, but the respondents rejected his application in May 2021 as statute‑barred. In his judicial‑review application, Mr Justice Micheál O'Higgins rejected the claim, stating that O'Brien had not shown that the limitation period was contrary to his rights or that his exclusion was oppressive or unfair.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Ex-prisoner who ran out of time for slopping-out claim fails in review bid. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- March 2013 Hearing Or Sentence
- April 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
- February 2020 Other
- November 2020 Other
- March 2021 Other
- May 2021 Other
- 2025-02-06 Publication
Why: A man who claimed he was subject to degrading and inhumane conditions in prison because he had to urinate and defecate in a bucket in front of other inmates and then "slop out" the contents has lost a court challenge seeking to reverse a decision to deny him access to a compensation scheme. CNI source report
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