Calls to end the appalling conditions in prisons.
The Prison Officers Association has called on the government to end what it says are appalling conditions in Irish prisons.
The association says that it is serving notice on the Minister for Justice Ray Burke that improvements must be introduced to bring the prison system into the 20th century.
The association demands improvements to ensure what it calls "humane containment standards" in the prison system.
The association expressed concerns that a requirement for basic conditions, most of which were outlined by the Whitaker Committee Report of 1985, are not being met. One of the key problems is the system of what is known as "slopping out" whereby prisoners must change their chamber pots four times a day.
Tom Hoare, Deputy General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association, describes slopping out as,
A dirty, filthy, degrading practice. Degrading for the prisoners who have to do it and for the staff who have to supervise it.
The association says that it will consider industrial action if its demands for modern hygienic conditions in prisons are not met.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 20 September 1990. The reporter is Tom McCaughren.
