Prison watchdog finds violence is 'inevitable' in the 'degrading conditions' at Cloverhill 

The OIP chief inspector said 38 inmates had been sleeping on mattresses on the floor in “overcrowded, stuffy and malodorous cells” in Cloverhill Prison at the time of the inspection in May 2023. File photo: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie

The State’s prison watchdog has expressed concern about “degrading conditions” in cells in one of the country’s largest prisons and their effect on prisoners.

The most senior official in the Office of Inspector of Prisons (OIP), Mark Kelly, has strongly criticised conditions at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin, particularly in relation to overcrowding, following an unannounced inspection of the jail last week.