Prison staff fear bunk bed syndrome undoing potential for good work

PRISON officers and chaplains working in Wheatfield believe the good work in the prison is being seriously jeopardised by a growing overcrowding problem.

The prison has a capacity of 320. With the closure of two of the prison’s 20 units last year to make way for a new extension, this effectively reduced its capacity to 304.

When the Irish Examiner visited, Governor Lennon said there were 372 inmates and that a large number of cells were doubled up.