Prisoner phone calls cost more than €500,000 since 2021

Bills were highest at the Midlands Prison where the combined two-year bill for telephone services came to over €115,000. File picture: Dan Linehan

THE Irish Prison Service has run up a €530,000 phone bill over the last two years so prisoners could keep in touch with friends and family.

The prison service said spending was particularly high in 2021 when it rose to €297,479 due to strict covid-19 restrictions on visitors. The total phone bill fell last year to €237,707, a drop of around 20% according to figures provided under FOI.

Bills were highest at the Midlands Prison where the combined two-year bill for telephone services came to over €115,000, with VAT adding further costs to that bill. Phone bills at Mountjoy Prison came to €66,000 over the course of two years while the bill was just under €19,000 at the adjoining Dóchas Women’s Prison.

There was a bill of over €26,000 at Cork Prison, nearly €18,000 at Limerick Jail, and more than €53,000 at Wheatfield Prison in Dublin. At the prison for sex offenders in Arbour Hill, the total bill came to €12,222 while €21,000 was spent at high-security Portlaoise Prison.

The Irish Prison Service is working on a project to provide in-cell telephone services to prisoners at jails around the country. They said in-cell services would be available by the end of the year and would allow prisoners to communicate with partners and children at more suitable times and help “facilitate more privacy”.

A spokesman added: “This will reduce the significant demand for prisoner phones which are located on landings and can result in queues during peak times which can on occasion lead to conflict.” 

The Irish Prison Service said the same restrictions and oversight would still apply to in-cell calls. They would be limited to certain pre-approved numbers, call duration would be a maximum of six minutes, and monitoring and recording would “be in line with the current process”.

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A spokesman said the covid-19 pandemic had provided significant challenges for managing jails with prisoners frequently confined to their cells for longer periods. That meant certain rehabilitation services were not available as normal while physical visits to prison were suspended for significant periods, for up to 12 months in some cases.

The spokesman added: “[We recognise] the importance of people in custody maintaining relationship with their family and friends while in custody. Both play an important and supportive role in the rehabilitation of prisoners and in their preparation for life post-release and the traditional telephone and new in-cell telephony project enhance the Prison Service’s ability to provide prisoners with a platform to support this contact.” 

The prison service said video visits and the introduction of in-cell phones on a phased basis had been particularly useful in letting prisoners reach family as well as psychologists, drug treatment counsellors, and chaplains.