Government condemned as report exposes prisons record

THE Government’s record on prisons was condemned last night, following the publication of a report on the State’s penal system.

The damning report said the condition of Mountjoy and Portlaoise jails are unacceptable and that they should be demolished. Opposition politicians and reform groups last night condemned the government.

The report by Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen, the country’s first prisons inspector, contains stinging criticism of both the Department of Justice, claiming its officials had obstructed his work, and the cost of running the Prison Service. The former High Court judge also called for the demolition of mice and cockroach-infested Mountjoy and crumbling Portlaoise.