Malfunction of access system puts prison officers at risk

Prison officers and staff at one of the country’s hi-tech prisons were put at risk yesterday when the malfunction of an access system failed for 45 minutes, according to the Prison Officers Association.

It is reported this morning that the incident occurred in Castlerea prison, Co Roscommon and is the first of its kind to occur in the state.

The palm recognition system which controls access through gates and doors failed at 11am yesterday.

According to Eugene Dennehy, deputy secretary of the POA: "All the automated gates at Castlerea Prison locked and malfunctioned, no one could get in or out.

"All staff, prison officers, teachers and welfare staff, were locked in with prisoners at various locations, exercise yards, classrooms, recreational halls and landings.

"The seriousness of this could not be overstated. What if a staff member was attacked or taken hostage? We couldn’t get access. We will be writing to Prison Service to ask for an urgent meeting.

"We will be talking to other relevant authorities such as the Health and Safety Authority."

The Irish Prison Service has rejected that there was a security risk, saying there was a "temporary glitch" with the recognition system, which has been in use since the 1990s.

The IPS also said that staff were only locked in for an extra 10 or 15 minutes, as all the doors were opened manually.