THE level of violence in prisons is growing at “an alarming rate”, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) has claimed.

PERSISTENT overcrowding of Irish prisons is leading to higher suicide rates, aggression between inmates and the spread of infectious diseases, prison officers claimed last night.

JUSTICE MINISTER Michael McDowell left the door open yesterday for a possible last-minute breakthrough on the overtime row with prison officers.

A RECORD 100 serious assaults were reported by prison officers last year and over €2m was paid out in compensation, it emerged yesterday.