Logan plea to prison service after complaints at young offenders facility

THE Ombudsman for Children yesterday asked for the Irish Prison Service to “work with her” as a report into conditions at the country’s biggest facility for young offenders unearthed a series of complaints about life there.

Emily Logan’s office published the report, having spoken with staff and former inmates from St Patrick’s Institute for Young Offenders, which holds prisoners aged between 16 and 21 years.

It found that conditions in cells could be improved, there was a lack of communication as to how the prison worked, especially when inmates first arrive, and some young people, if suffering mental health issues, might have been reluctant to speak up for fear they could be placed in a special observation cell.