Women’s jail shelves plans for block amid safety concerns

Prison bosses said plans for a new block at Dóchas Women’s Prison, which have been criticised as posing “a risk to the health, safety, and welfare” of inmates, were no longer going ahead.

The warning was made in the 2011 annual report of the Dóchas Visiting Committee, published on Tuesday.

The committee said overcrowding in the unit, which would see nine women per room — along with limited bathroom facilities and ventilation — would lead to “possible tensions and unrest”.