Overcrowded prisons - Will we ever learn?

THIS week has been dominated by the appalling abuse report, how children were sent to institutions unfit for purpose and abused.

This week Justice Minister Dermot Ahern also announced that the long-promised prison at Thornton Hall was deferred because costs had become prohibitive

Today we report that 30 women – two of whom are pregnant – are held in 10 single cells in Limerick Prison. The Prison Officers’ Association also report that Cork Prison is holding twice as many inmates – 298 – than it was designed for.

Prison is indeed a place of punishment but it is also supposed to be a place where a life can be recovered, a place where a person can become a valued citizen rather than a burden on society.

Will we ever learn?