THE Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, is expected to express concern about deficiencies in the prison system when he officially publishes a report on Mountjoy Prison in Dublin.
The Minister is likely to re-affirm his pre-election commitments to add 2,000 prison spaces to the system within two years when he formally publishes the 1996 report of the Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee later today.
The report is being made public after details of its contents appeared in The Irish Times earlier this week.
The report shows that over-crowding, drug abuse and inadequate medical and psychiatric facilities continue to be among the major problems at the jail.
The chairwoman of the committee, Ms Nuala Fennell, said that the situation would get "progressively worse" unless the over-crowding was relieved.
She said she was concerned at the increased number of suicide attempts reported in the jail and at the use of padded cells for prisoners who should be in psychiatric care. A proper detention centre for mentally- disturbed prisoners was clearly needed, she said.
The prison authorities hope that a new telephone system being installed in the prison will help ease the stress of prisoners worried about family events outside the jail. At present, there are only five telephones for the approximately 700 prisoners in the Mountjoy complex.
Under the new system, about 30 telephones will be installed, and prisoners will be issued with programmed telephone cards which will ensure that only pre-programmed numbers are dialled.
Prison officers will continue to be permitted to listen to their conversations.