Irish prisons 'in breach of human rights standards'

The Irish Penal Reform Trust has said this week's report from the Inspector of Prisons describes shocking conditions which are both unacceptable and in breach of human rights standards.

It has called on the Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to commit to addressing the urgent issues identified in the document.

The trust believes the report must act as a watershed in the Irish Penal system.

The report details how seven prisoners are accommodated in a four-bed cell with three buckets as sanitary facilities.