Violence at Mountjoy prison during the weekend, after which seven prison officers received hospital treatment, could speed up the opening of a remand prison at Cloverhill in Dublin.
The new prison is likely to take its first inmates this week, which will alleviate some of the overcrowding at Mountjoy.
The weekend disturbances arose from an incident in the B block of the prison, a holding unit, where overcrowding is a serious problem.
The governor of Mountjoy Prison, Mr John Lonergan, has started an investigation into the weekend incidents and the new director general of the Prison Service, Mr Sean Aylward, has been fully informed of the situation, a spokesman for the Department of Justice said yesterday.
Extra staff were on duty at the prison yesterday following the incident, which broke out about 2.30 p.m. on Saturday.
The spokesman said the disturbance arose after one remand prisoner hit another. He said other prisoners then became involved and prison officers intervened. The situation was quickly brought under control, he added.
The B block, which holds remand prisoners under protection and prisoners regarded as "difficult", was closed down for a time following the incident. B Block is designed for 40 inmates but regularly holds many more.
The spokesman said overcrowding in the prison, highlighted in the unpublished 1998 report of the Mountjoy Visiting Committee, had been an issue for years, making it difficult to maintain order.
According to the Mountjoy Visiting Committee's 1998 report, the cells were never intended for sleeping accommodation but a routine had developed where floor-space was allocated to prisoners on a nightly basis.
Seven prison officers were treated in the Mater Hospital for cuts and bruising after Saturday's incident but none was detained overnight.
None of the prisoners was treated in hospital but some may have sought medical assistance within the prison.
There was another minor disturbance in a different division of the prison about 7.30 p.m., when one or two prisoners refused to leave their cells. The situation was quickly brought under control, according to the Department spokesman.
Mr Tom Hoare, of the Prison Officers' Association, yesterday said it would carry out its own investigation into the incident.
