Mountjoy Prison continues to be ‘unsuitable for detaining prisoners’ due to overcrowding, lack of toilet facilities and inadequate staffing, according to the 2008 Annual Report of the Visiting Committee.
The Committee notes that - as stated in its annual report for 2007 - conditions for detaining prisoners are sub-standard.
It says that the core value of the Irish Prison Service that it is committed ‘to making available to each person in custody the conditions and services that are appropriate to their well-being and personal development fall far short of reality.’
The Committee criticises overcrowding, with prisoners sleeping on mattresses and on some occasions the population being as high as 113% of occupancy.
It recommends Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern should consider allowing community services for minor offences such as non-payment of fines to keep the prison population down.
It says that rehabilitation is ‘still a long way from satisfactory’, as was noted in the 2007 report.
Drugs remain a problem in the prison and the Committee says there are no facilities to deal with sex offenders.
It notes violence between prisoners and the difficulty management face in trying to segregate gangs.
It also says there are not enough facilities or staff for adequate training, recreational or education of prisoners.
