CONCERNS voiced by the Penal Reform Trust have focused the spotlight on Coalition spending on prison padded cells while, at the same time, shamefully neglecting the country’s psychiatric services.

Mountjoy Prison Governor John Lonergan today called for greater recognition for those who provide care services in Ireland.

THE Inspector of Prisons, Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen, has delivered a scathing attack on the Government for its failure to support his office and act on his complaints about prison conditions.

A NUMBER of prison officers had tests for HIV and Hepatitis C yesterday after they were covered in faeces and urine from slop-out buckets during violent clashes at Mountjoy prison.

THE prison overtime row has taken a potentially explosive twist amid claims that staff who receive big payments have grown accustomed to a lifestyle epitomised by big houses, big mortgages, big cars and foreign holidays.