The Inspector of Prisons has strongly criticised the prison service for its failure to properly investigate deaths in custody.
In a report issued this evening, Judge Michael Reilly found there was no consistent procedure for such investigations and they do not meet the standards of best international practice.
The Inspector also said he found dirty prisons, broken windows, broken and leaking equipment, unpainted areas and cells in unacceptable conditions when he visited the country's 14 jails.
He has given prison governors until the end of next month to remedy these problems.
He said that in-cell sanitation should be provided in all cells in Mountjoy by the end of the year and that he wants a timescale for the elimination of ‘slopping out’.
He also wants the establishment of proper complaints and disciplinary procedures and the appropriate use of safety and observation cells.
He wants timetables for the elimination of overcrowding, the introduction of adequate services and regimes and for provision of proper healthcare.
He said he expects an announcement on the timetable on drug-free support areas in all prisons in the next six months.
