Irish prisons have returned to the days of chronic overcrowding and Government plans to appoint more judges are only going to make it worse, according to the head of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA).
“Regretfully we are back to pack ‘em, stack ‘em and rack ‘em days,” POA president Tony Power will tell Minister for Justice Simon Harris on Thursday at the association’s annual conference in Galway.
In response, Mr Harris is expected to announce the creation of 400 extra prison spaces over the next five years, representing a 9 per cent increase in capacity.
Mr Power is to raise serious concerns about the impact of overcrowding on the safety of both staff and prisons and criticise plans by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) to address the problem by using bunk beds.
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“Minister, acquiring bunk beds does not solve the problem; it merely hides it, and Minister this is 2023 and we live in a modern, economically sound country,” he is expected to say.
Overcrowding allows bullies to “thrive” which places huge pressure on vulnerable prisoners to bring in contraband, including weapons and drugs. “Serious violence is very often part of the scenario here and we prison officers pay the inevitable price. You must take swift and decisive action on this most serious matter Minister,” Mr Power will say.
Last month, in an internal memo, a prison health official raised serious concerns about prison safety due to the numbers sleeping on mattresses on the floor. The mattresses block staff from opening the door, meaning guards have to ask one of the prisoners inside to move it, in order to gain entry.
How are staff going to gain access to the cell if both prisoners are under the influence of drugs, the medical official asked in the memo.
At the start of April, there were 194 prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor, a fourfold increase since January. As of Wednesday, there were 164 prisoners without beds with the prison system operating at 104 per cent capacity.
Mr Power will tell the Minister that his court reform plans will inevitably result in more people being sent to prison, placing more pressure on the system. He referenced plans for up to 44 new judges to be appointed and for courts to sit for longer hours with fewer holidays.
“The important question that it poses is where will we put them, because the Department of Justice officials seem to be standing with hands in pockets ignoring the issue and hoping it will just go away,” he will say.
The Dóchas Centre women’s prison is operating at 170 per cent capacity and during the worst periods of overcrowding, five women were sharing a single cell, Mr Harris will be told. “If we were reading this account in respect of some other European country, we would be asking what are they at. What has gone wrong with their prison service?”
In his address, Mr Harris will outline plans to increase prison capacity in Castlerea, Cloverhill, Midlands and Mountjoy prisons. This includes the demolition of the separation unit in Mountjoy and “potentially” building a four-storey, 100-cell block in its place.
More space is needed in prisons due to recent population growth and increased numbers of judges and gardaí, he will say.
