Kinlen last week criticised the minister and said that the rights of prisoners were consistently breached due to overcrowding, denial of conjugal rights and cost-cutting.

McDowell described Kinlen's comments as "unbalanced" and said the government had begun to address many of the issues raised. However, a spokesman for Kinlen yesterday issued a statement to the Sunday Tribune rejecting the minister's "spin".

"Prisoners in the Republic should be entitled to the same rights as prisoners in Northern Ireland, " he said. "They have a statutory inspector of prisons, a statutory ombudsman for prisoners' rights and a fully equipped board of visitors with full powers, unlike our neutered visiting committee here.

The inspector told the minister that if his department continued to ignore him he will bark. The minister's response was 'bark away'. So he has, " the spokesman added.