Prison officers: Report backs our concerns

IRISH prisons are outdated, underfunded and understaffed, according to prison officers who say a report by an international human rights agency backs their concerns about their dangerous working conditions.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) was responding to the publication of a report by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), which warned of growing inter-prisoner violence, fuelled by drugs and gangland feuds and concluded several main prisons were unsafe for both inmates and staff.

“As constantly highlighted by the POA, our prisons are outdated, in many cases, underfunded and under-resourced and until this is addressed we will continue to have massive problems in our prisons,” said the association’s president, Jim Mitchell.