URGENT calls are being made for the Minister for Justice to address the overcrowding crisis in Limerick Prison, following a visit by members of the Oireachtas Justice Committee.
The visit was led by committee chairperson, Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy, to the medium security prison for adult males and females this past Monday.
Just 338 beds were available for over 400 prisoners in the men’s prison this week, leaving the prison operating at over 123 per cent capacity.
The women’s prison was 170 per cent oversubscribed, with almost 100 in custody in the 56-bed facility.
Speaking after the visit, Deputy Carthy said “serious concerns have been raised” by representatives working in the prisons, as well as the Inspector for Prisons and the Irish Penal Reform Trust.
“This is a prison where over the last year a significant number of male prisoners have regularly been sleeping on mattresses on the floor,” he said.
“There has also been a large number of drug overdoses and drug seizures in the last year and an incident in recent months where prison officers were assaulted.”
“The increase in the prison population, now at 5,700 (nationally), is the direct result of years of government failure to reduce crime and to reduce recidivism. The Irish Prison Service is clearly under extreme pressure. It is unacceptable and unsafe that 600 people are now sleeping on mattresses on the floor in prisons. This is three times as many as when the Minister came into office”, Deputy Carthy added.
“What we heard from those working in Limerick Prison and what we saw for ourselves is that the overcrowding crisis is making it increasingly difficult to manage prisons as they become more dangerous for prisoner officers and for prisoners, despite the best efforts of the prison service. Overcrowding is contributing to tensions in prisoners and is also impacting on the ability of prisons to provide education and training, which is crucial to rehabilitation.”
“If we are to cut the numbers ending up in prison this has to be a priority, as does ensuring that young people don’t become involved in criminality in the first place,” he said, adding that “we cannot have a situation where dangerous criminals are being released early or temporarily because of a lack of prison places”.