Prison watchdog warns on drugs in Mountjoy after inmate died after accidental overdose in cell

The prisons inspections watchdog has warned that the availability of illicit drugs in Mountjoy Prison “continues to be a matter of serious concern” following the apparent accidental overdose of an inmate.

A report by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons into the circumstances of the death of an inmate in March last year found that “another prisoner witnessed the deceased in possession of illicit substances on the day of his death”.

Prisoner E was 28 when he died on March 25 last year. He had been committed to Mountjoy on January 16, 2017, and had been in prison on previous occasions. He could have been released as early as May 16, 2017, and was in a single cell at the time of his death.