THE HEAD of the Irish Prison Service has rejected a European Council report that contains serious criticism of Irish jails and found conditions for prisoners as well as staff in some jails were unsafe, inhumane and degrading.
Director general of the prison service Brian Purcell has issued a statement in which he rejects or tries to rebut criticisms in the new report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Mr Purcell said although he accepted prison overcrowding was now a problem, he did “not accept that any of our prisons were unsafe as a result”.
The report was particularly critical of conditions in Mountjoy Prison, saying they were unsafe for staff and prisoners. It said violent attacks with weapons in the jail were “an almost daily occurrence”.
Mr Purcell refuted these claims, saying there were 117 reported incidents of prisoner-on-prisoner violence in Mountjoy last year, with only 21 cases involving the use of a weapon.
“It is not possible to completely eliminate such acts [of violence] in prisons where criminals, many of whom have a history of violence, are held in close confinement without introducing a regime that would be unacceptable,” he said.
He said many attacks that occurred across the prison system were linked to “drug debts and gang rivalries” that arose before those involved were imprisoned.
On the issue of alleged prison officer assaults and subsequent investigations, Mr Purcell said a new, comprehensive system of dealing with prisoner complaints and allegations had been introduced in January 2010.
“The complaints outlined by the committee for the prevention of torture occurred prior to the introduction of the new procedures,” he said.
The committee also criticised plans for the mooted 2,200-bed Thornton Hall prison, which is intended to end overcrowding, saying prisons on such a large scale were “difficult to manage”.
However, Mr Purcell said an additional 700 spaces had been created over the past two years through building projects in existing jails. A further 400 additional spaces would be provided in the near future.
He also said many cells without in-cell sanitation would be fitted with toilets.
As a result 80 per cent of cells would have toilets, leaving mainly Mountjoy and Cork prisons with slopping out.
