20% of juvenile inmates locked up 23 hours a day

MORE than a fifth of inmates in the country’s sole prison for young offenders are locked up in their cells for 23 hours a day.

The latest figures, released by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, relating to last Tuesday, show 252 inmates were incarcerated 23 hours a day — roughly 6% of the prison population on that date.

The highest rates were in St Patrick’s Institution for Young Offenders which accommodates 16 to 21-year- olds. They were followed by Mountjoy, Wheatfield, Castlerea and Cork prisons.