Officers get €160,000 to guard empty jails

PRISON officers guarding empty jails have been paid over €160,000 in overtime since the prisons were closed in an effort to cut down on overtime bills.

The 20 prison officers making up the ‘skeleton staff’ in the ‘ghost prisons’ at Spike Island and the Curragh receive their full salaries and allowances of around €45,000 a year.

On top of that, they have also been paid an average of €8,100 in overtime since the facilities closed earlier this year.