Report highlights 'squalor' of prison life

The lack of human rights for prisoners was condemned today in a damning report that highlighted squalid living conditions for inmates.

The Irish prison chaplains raised concerns about severe overcrowding in some facilities where inmates still sleep on floors and are locked in one cell for 23 hours with four other men.

In their annual report they also maintained the chronic lack of rehabilitation and facilities offers inmates little hope of improving their circumstances while behind bars.

The chaplains called on Justice Minister Dermot Ahern to postpone the construction of a new super prison at Thornton Hall in north Dublin to allow for a proper debate on the prison system.

Head chaplain, Sr. Imelda Wickham, said the majority of prisoners are poor, uneducated and unemployed.

“If the prisoners fail to get a chance to improve their lives while being detained, we are not just failing them – but also their victims and wider communities,” said Sr Wickham.

“Prisons are necessary for those who commit serious crimes, but overcrowding, mainly with petty criminals, homeless and mentally ill people, was leading to an impossible situation where prisoners have no hope of rehabilitation.”

The report found even inmates do not feel safe behind bars anymore, with increasing numbers requesting to go on “voluntary” lock-up.

It revealed the illegal drugs trade was fuelling violence in prison and that overcrowding was further compounded by the use of prisons to hold illegal immigrants pending deportation.

The prison chaplains – who launched the report to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – said having inmates in Mountjoy, Cork and Limerick still slopping out after a 17-hour lock-up with up to four others, who then return to those same cells to eat their meals, is surely against human rights.

They claim the situation in the system could be addressed if alternatives were found for the large numbers of prisoners who are behind bars for non-payment of fines and petty crimes.

“Lack of in-cell washing and toilet facilities is both degrading and demeaning,” continued Sr Wickham.

“Our response to crime cannot ignore the causes.”

Chaplains maintain postponing Thornton Hall could give government time to put in place alternatives for those who fail to pay fines, to provide rehabilitative centres for addicts, provide mental care services for the mentally ill, and explore the possibility of the smaller more rehabilitative type of prison.

“A fundamental issue that needs to be addressed is whether we as a society are willing to cut back on education, on health and social welfare but unwilling to cut back on prison expansion,” she added.

“People have a right, a duty and a responsibility to decide.”