Secret report attacks State’s failure to act on prisons

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.

In a confidential report, seen by the Irish Examiner, the retired High Court Judge reveals his deep anger at the lack of political backing for his office.

In a circular addressed to prisons management and the Department of Justice, Mr Justice Kinlen reveals evidence of chronic overcrowding and violence in Mountjoy Prison. He says there were occasionally sexual assaults on inmates, many of whom were frightened "country boys", first offenders or illegal immigrants. Mountjoy Governor John Lonergan as Justice Kinlen admits in the report does not stand over the claims.