The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has rejected comments by Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen that the prison system is a failure.
Mr Justice Kinlen, the Inspector of Prisons, told RTÉ News that the Minister for Justice was too conservative and that the prison service was too bureaucratic.
In his first ever interview, the inspector described his position as a façade and said the human rights of prisoners in jails all over the country are being breached every day.
He said 18 training and educational programmes for young offenders in one prison, St Patrick's Institution, have been closed down and now there are none.
He also said that five prison officers are suspected of smuggling drugs into prisons.
Mr Justice Kinlen says he has visited prisons in Spain and in Hong Kong and believes that, like there, inmates in Ireland should be allowed to work and earn full salaries for their families.
He also said he believes that in the future conjugal rights should and will be granted to inmates in Ireland, but it would not happen anytime soon.
But Michael McDowell said he was already acting on many of the specific points raised by Justice Kinlen.
POA seeks prison smoking ban
In another development, the POA is seeking to have the smoking ban introduced in prisons because it says the health and welfare of staff and inmates are being damaged.
Prisons, psychiatric facilities and some other institutions are exempt from the ban.
Delegates at the association's conference have now mandated their executive to seek legal advice on a judicial review of the legislation.
Prison officers say they are being discriminated against and should have the same protection as all other citizens.
They also say the exemption means the taxpayer is exposed to a potential multi-million euro liability in healthcare claims.
Prisoners can smoke almost anywhere in jail, apart from the visiting areas and the gym.
Officers from St Patrick's Institution, which deals with young offenders, say both they and the inmates are being exposed to carcinogens but are also being treated differently and unequally from their fellow citizens.
They say the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, is failing to protect their health and welfare and those in their care.
