Inspector of Prisons: An Assessment of the Irish Prison System

July 3, 2013

An Assessment of the Irish Prison System by the Inspector of Prisons was published today.

The report commends the Minister for Justice and his officials for great strides that have been made by the Irish Prison Service in the last number of years to address some of the serious concerns raised by the Inspector.

In relation to ongoing areas of concern, the main issues addressed in the report are as follows:

• Cell occupancy – the Inspector stressed that long term prisoners should be accommodated in single cells, highlighting that all of the new accommodation cells built in recent years have a capacity to hold two prisoners and in a minority of cases multiple prisoners.
• Slopping out – ongoing refurbishments at Mountjoy and Limerick prisons and the planned new prison at Cork mean that slopping out in all prisons except Portlaoise will be a thing of the past by mid 2016.
• Healthcare – the Inspector recommends that an Independent Audit of Healthcare in Irish Prisons be commissioned by the Irish Prison Service and that the results of the audit be published.
• High Support Units – the introduction of the High Support Unit has improved compliance with human rights standards, but prisons remain unsuitable places for people with severe mental illness.
• Safety Observation and Close Supervision cells – changes have been made to the Irish Prison Rules to reflect best practice in the operation of these types of cells.
• Complaints – the Inspector urges the Minister to bring forward as a matter of urgency amendments to the Prisons Act 2007 that will strengthen the role of the Inspector in the prisoner complaints procedure. He also urges the Director General to bring forward the implementation of a complaints procedure of category B and C complaints.

The full report can be read here.