Two prisoners sharing a cell in Mountjoy Prison shows the system is under ‘huge pressure’, says bishop

Mountjoy Prison in north Dublin is under “huge pressure” to cope with the demands being placed upon it, Bishop Martin Hayes has said.

Bishop Hayes said he recently visited the prison and saw two prisoners occupying one cell, with “one prisoner lying on the floor on a thin mattress”

Mr Hayes, who is Bishop of Kilmore and liaison bishop with prison chaplain, visited Mountjoy Prison last month and released a statement on Monday.

He said the State’s prison system was “struggling to achieve” rehabilitation for those in custody.

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“It is clear to me that the prison system in Mountjoy Prison is under huge pressure to cope with the demands placed upon it,” he said.

“The key message for me was that, while the population of our country has increased, the capacity of our Irish Prison Service – in terms of the total number of available cells – has not.

“It means that our prisons are becoming overcrowded resulting in instances of two prisoners occupying one cell, with one prisoner lying on the floor on a thin mattress, as I witnessed myself in Mountjoy.”

Bishop Hayes said lack of capacity was a priority issue for prison management which in turn were concerned that the appointment of fifty new Circuit Court judges “will result in more committals to prisons”.

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“While facilities for prisoners have been improved, the specific issue of concern for Mountjoy is the limitation on improvement arising from the design of the Victorian premises itself,” he said.

“In speaking to one of the long-term prisoners, I was told that prison conditions have improved greatly with the installation of hand basins and televisions.

“However, the concern shared by chaplains, and Irish Prison Service management, is that further progress is being hampered by overcrowding – two prisoners in one cell in effect represents a regression, a step backwards in the care of prisoners.”

Bishop Hayes said prisoners spoke with him about being unable to avail of education classes while another challenge was “the ease with which drugs can be delivered into the prison”.

“As Mountjoy is a prison in a city, drugs can literally be catapulted into the grounds thus increasing their ‘market’ value,” he said.

“Drugs are sought to cope with prison life and, of course, they hinder rehabilitation efforts. While the role of prison is to punish those who commit crime, I feel strongly that we have a responsibility to uphold the human dignity of those held in our prisons.

“It is absolutely in the interest of the common good that we do what we can for prisoners so as to help them return to society as a neighbour who, thereby, can make a positive contribution to our communities.”