Irish prison overcrowding 'acute'

Overcrowding in Irish prisons is "acute" and in some cases "amounts to inhuman treatment", the Inspector of Prisons has said.

The report from the Inspector of Prisons Judge Michael Reilly found some prisoners were being accommodated on mattresses on floors, in inappropriate holding cells and forced to "double up" in some cells. It also found that drug abuse in Irish prisons remains high, despite the authorities' attempts to stamp it out.

The report examined overcrowding in Mountjoy Prison, where some prisoners are still required to "slop out", and also at Cork Prison and Limerick Female Prison.

The inspector said Mountjoy Prison  consistently operated far beyond its design bed capacity last year and also beyond its stated bed capacity. He found that both Cork and Limerick Prison also exceeded bed capacity.

"Limerick Female Prison operated at or above its stated bed capacity of 20 on a number of occasions during the period covered by this report. On June 27th, 2008 there were 29 female prisoners in Limerick Prison – almost treble the design capacity. This amounts to inhuman treatment."

Such overcrowding can lead to "an air of tension", the report said, with a lack of adequate facilities for prisoners, and could lead to further violence in prisons.

Judge Reilly warned against further plans to double up capacity in cells, warning that it would exacerbate "an already serious situation".

He also highlighted the ongoing drug problem in prisons, describing the Irish Prison Service's plans to provide a drug-free system as "ambitious aspiration". He called on the prison service to introduce mandatory drug testing of all prisoners and designated "drug free" areas in prisons as a matter of urgency.

"The availability of drugs in prisons poses a continuing challenge for the Irish Prison Service. It is important that the service does not just concentrate on eliminating the supply of drugs to prisons but side by side with this it must provide adequate resources for the rehabilitation and treatment of drug addicted prisoners," he said.

"Prisoners are entitled to a standard of healthcare, which includes drug treatment programmes, equivalent to that available in the community."

Fine Gael's justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said the report revealed the "chronic and totally unacceptable state" of many Irish prisons. Mr Flanagan said the report was a "damning indictment" of Government prison policy over a long number of years.

"Some of our prisons are now so overcrowded that prisoners have been reported to be sleeping in shower units and offices. These conditions are primitive and inhumane and are dangerous for prisoners and prison officers," he said.

"Our prison system is an abject failure. It does not prevent crime but rather sees half of offenders back inside within four years. The State imprisons the homeless and the mentally ill without dealing with the root cause of either problem. The haphazard approach to prison policy has created dangerous conditions in many of our prisons."