'Inhumane and degrading' slopping out at Limerick Prison to end

Irish Prison Service will now have a total capital budget of €36m after budget, with majority to go on redevelopment of Limerick jail

'Slopping out is inhuman and degrading for prisoners and for the prison staff who have to oversee this appalling practice.' Picture: Dan Linehan

A €15m increase in the prisons capital budget will help end the “inhuman and degrading” practice of slopping out at Limerick Prison.

After the budget announcement, the Irish Prison Service will now have a total capital budget of €36m, with the majority being set aside to complete the redevelopment of Limerick Prison.

According to the Department of Justice, this project will completely modernise the prison and will “include the elimination of slopping out” once completed. The Irish Penal Reform Trust has welcomed the news.

“Slopping out is inhuman and degrading for prisoners and for the prison staff who have to oversee this appalling practice. Ensuring that budget is available to complete the modernisation of Limerick Prison is very welcome but it won't end this condemned practice in Ireland. This week there are 27 men accommodated in E-Block in Portlaoise Prison, which does not have in-cell sanitation," said a spokesperson for the penal reform trust.

"Slopping out is a clear breach of basic dignity and human rights norms, and it is even more concerning during a pandemic when hygiene and sanitation play a central role in protecting life and health."

According to the Department of Justice, prior to the budget, the Irish Prison Service had a capital allocation for 2021 of €21m.

“The additional €15m brings the total allocation in 2021 to €36m. Of this, €28m will be spent on the completion of the Limerick Prison project,” a spokesperson stated. 

This doesn’t represent an increase in the overall cost, the department said. The project was delayed somewhat this year due to Covid. “Approximately €12m has been spent on the project up to the start of this year and expenditure in excess of €20m is likely to be the cost in 2020.” 

The practice of slopping out has been condemned as far back as 1993 by the European Committee on the Prevention of Torture.

“The construction of a new prison in Cork, which opened on February 12, 2016, and the complete refurbishment of all the wings in Mountjoy Prison has resulted in the elimination of the practice of slopping out in both those prisons,” a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said.

“Now, nearly 99% of prisoners across the prison estate have access to in-cell sanitation. However, there are a small number of prisoners subject to slopping out in Limerick (which will be eliminated on completion of this project) leaving Portlaoise as the remaining project outstanding."