McDowell fails to get to grips with worsening conditions in jails

IN a memo sent to Justice Minister Michael McDowell last February, Mountjoy prison secretary John Ward outlined conditions in the prison.

“That any person would be held in such conditions is evidence of the complete and utter disregard that the prison service authorities have for the basic human rights of persons in custody”, he wrote, clearly making Mr McDowell aware of the need for serious action.

But we know only too well that things have to reach crisis levels before the minister takes action. Amid much fanfare, he announced last week that when the new prison was built, Mountjoy would be turned into housing complex for several hundred people.

But how long will this new prison take to build and to what extent will its costs inevitability over-run?

What happens in the meantime? Prison officers work in fear and prisoners try to find space for their mattresses in overcrowded cells each night.

Mountjoy isn’t the only prison facing serious over-crowding. Last week there were 277 inmates in Cork prison, which has a capacity for only 150. How can prison officers be expected to work in these conditions and how can we expect prisoners to be released back into society rehabilitated in any way when they are treated like animals in a cage?

Mr McDowell has failed too often to resolve the crisis in the justice system.

Caitriona Fitzpatrick

Elvaston

Marble Hall Park

Douglas Road

Cork