Women’s jail shelves plans for block amid safety concerns

Prison bosses said plans for a new block at Dóchas Women’s Prison, which have been criticised as posing “a risk to the health, safety, and welfare” of inmates, were no longer going ahead.

The warning was made in the 2011 annual report of the Dóchas Visiting Committee, published on Tuesday.

The committee said overcrowding in the unit, which would see nine women per room — along with limited bathroom facilities and ventilation — would lead to “possible tensions and unrest”.

The Prison Service said these original plans, which involved dormitory-style accommodation, have been replaced with separate rooms, with capacity for two women each.

The committee also raised concerns about “greatly reduced staff numbers” and said the provision of underwear at the Dublin jail was a “big issue”.

The report was one of eight visiting committee reports published by the Department of Justice at the same time as the damning report on St Patrick’s Institution for young offenders by the Inspector of Prisons.

The visiting committee said it only had two members, down from eight, due to cutbacks and that this was of “great concern”.

It said while staff show strong commitment to good running of the jail, staffing issues were of concern and that it “significantly impacted” on the prison, including attendance at education classes.

It said accommodation and general maintenance had deteriorated at the prison, but expressed its greatest concerns at the construction of a new wing of the prison.

“A new building planned for Dóchas is a serious backward step for the prison. The high numbers that are planned for this building constitute a risk to the health, safety, and welfare of prisoners and are to be regretted.”

It said they were particularly fearful about:

* Overcrowding — nine women per room was “not acceptable” in a modern prison;

* Limited bathroom facilities;

* Heating/ventilation;

* Possible tensions and unrest due to overcrowding.

On another issue, it said: “Provision of underwear was a big issue for prisoners as they are not allowed to access their own and fresh supplies were out of stock in the prison.”

A spokesman for the Prison Service said original plans for dormitory-style accommodation “were no longer in place” and standard rooms were being constructed.

He said the capacity of the block would now be for 20 women.

It is thought that under the original plans the block would have housed 70 inmates.

Limerick Prison Visiting Committee said the number of inmates seeking protection in the prison was “at an all-time high”.

Figures published last month in the Irish Examiner show that 63 prisoners were on protection, representing 24% of the population (260).

The committee said it noted with concern that the number of probation officers at the jail had been cut to one.

It said it was also concerned at the continuing trade in drugs at the prison despite the efforts of staff.

The visiting committees for both Castlerea Prison and the Midlands Prison said the authorities needed to examine the imprisonment of people for failure to pay fines.