Warning of 'revolving door' for prisoners without further investment

The IPS also warned of the potential of 'widespread outbreak' of infectious diseases like covid-19 and tuberculosis due to overcrowding in Irish jails. File picture

The prison service has warned of a “revolving door” for prisoners if new jail accommodation for criminals is not urgently provided.

In a submission to the Department of Justice, the Irish Prison Service (IPS) said the number of people in jail had increased by almost a quarter in the space of five years, and was only going to rise further.

And with more than 100 prisoners already sleeping on mattresses daily, it warned of “increased tension and incidences of violence” between inmates as well as higher potential for “violent assaults on staff”.

It said the so-called revolving door for prisoners could return with temporary release being offered in an “unstructured manner” early in sentences.

This could have a knock-on effect on public safety and undermine the administration of justice if criminals were released too early.

The IPS also warned of the potential of “widespread outbreak” of infectious diseases like covid-19 and tuberculosis due to overcrowding in Irish jails.

It also predicted increased levels of illegal contraband entering the system, including narcotics, mobile phones, and weapons.

It said this could lead to “drug-related illness” and “possible death in custody” as a result of overdose due to difficulties in tackling smuggling.

The submission was sent to the Department of Justice in March of this year amid growing concern about the levels of overcrowding in prisons.

A month later, Justice Minister Simon Harris confirmed 620 new prison spaces would be provided over the next five years at four different jails.

'Human rights violations'

In the detailed submission, the Irish Prison Service had also warned of the higher potential for compensation claims from prisoners.

It said this litigation could come in the form of personal injury claims from increased violence and accidents, or through cases for “human rights violations”.

It warned of a negative impact on prison staff, with difficulties in retaining officers, increased absenteeism, and cancellation of training or development courses.

Industrial relations issues were also possible, with prison officers being asked to work in “potentially dangerous and unsafe working conditions”.

The Irish Prison Service also detailed how rising Garda numbers were likely to lead to increased numbers of people in prison.

The submission said: “Changing trends in the prison population have traditionally mirrored changes in the numbers of An Garda Síochána. Historical data bears out this potential correlation and it can be seen that Garda strength and prison population increase and decrease in tandem.” 

With up to 1,000 new gardaí expected to be added to the force in the coming years, further strain on the prison system was almost inevitable.

The Irish Prison Service also said the appointment of more judges to the bench would create even more pressure.

“This will lead to increased courts activity resulting in increased custodial sentences and higher levels of prison committals,” said the submission.

Asked about the records, a spokesman for the Department of Justice said the Government and prison service were working together to identify short-, medium-, and long-term proposals to tackle capacity issues.

He said: “The Irish Prison Service must accept all prisoners committed by the courts and as such [it] has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time.” 

The spokesman added that where numbers exceed capacity, the IPS tried to deal with it through inter-prison transfers and structured temporary release.