Overcrowding to top agenda at prison officers' conference

The issue of overcrowding is set to top the agenda at the annual conference of the Irish Prison Officers Association in Sligo today.

The association claims Minister for Justice Michael McDowell's decision to close detention facilities at the Curragh and Spike Island has led to a major shortage of prison places.

They also claim this shortage has led to inmates being granted temporary or early release because there isn't any room to accommodate them.

Mr McDowell, however, is insisting that the number of prison places in the system has increased substantially in the past 10 years and that the number of prisoners getting early release has decreased significantly under the last two Fianna Fáil-PD governments.