The Judge of the District Court in Nenagh, Michael Reilly, has been appointed to the post of Inspector of Prisons by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Brian Lenihan.

Judge Reilly, who retains his position as a judge, will take up the new five-year appointment on January 1.

Announcing the appointment on Thursday last, Minister Lenihan said it was important to have an independent inspector of the prison service. He was confident that Judge Reilly would carry out his duties in a fair and impartial manner.

'Judge Reilly brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the post from his national and international work,' said the Minister.

Judge Reilly was appointed a Judge of the District Court in 1982. Previous to that he had been appointed a member of the Tormey Commission which reported to the Minister for Justice on Criminal Legal Aid.

Judge Reilly has played a central role in establishing the Nenagh Reparation Project, a pilot restorative justice model to deal with offenders in the community.

In wishing Judge Reilly well in his new post, the Minister said he looked forward to working with him and his office in a positive and constructive manner over the next five years.

The Office of Inspector of Prisons and the functions of the office are provided for in Part 5 of the Prisons Act, 2007. The key role is to carry out regular inspections of prisons. The appointee may, and shall if asked by the Minister, investigate any matter arising out of the management or operation of a prison and shall submit a report to the Minister on the matter under investigation. The Inspector does not have a function to investigate or adjudicate on complaints from individual prisoners.

It is hoped that Judge Reilly will bring with him, to his new post, his committment to Restorative Approaches. At a recent conference held in Dublin on Restorative Justice, the participants heard about the Nenagh Project which has been awarded nationally for it's practice and community involvement.