Prison officers tested for HIV after prison riot

A NUMBER of prison officers had tests for HIV and Hepatitis C yesterday after they were covered in faeces and urine from slop-out buckets during violent clashes at Mountjoy prison.

Tensions were high at the State’s largest prison last night after the trouble yesterday morning which left 18 prison officers needing hospital treatment. More than 100 prisoners were involved in a separate sit-down protest around lunchtime.

The tour of the prison by eight army officers in full uniform over the weekend sparked the clashes, according to the Prison Officers Association (POA).

“Prisoners saw this and went Commanche,” said POA deputy general secretary Eugene Dehenny. “Prison officers and prisoners are extremely concerned about what is going to happen,” he said

Justice Minister Michael McDowell has threatened to draft in gardaí and the army to run prisons if officers strike over radical plans to reform the prison service.

The violence erupted around 10am after a prison officer went to open a cell on the B1 landing. After refusing to leave the cell, one inmate, a cocaine and heroin addict serving seven years for violent robberies, headbutted the officer.

Other inmates got involved and as officers poured onto the wing, slop out buckets along with tea and hot water were hurled over them.

Around 130 prisoners from two landings, B3 and D1, refused to return their cells at lunchtime and held sit-down protests.

Governor John Lonergan spoke to the prisoners and assured them their welfare would be a priority in the event of industrial action. Mr Lonergan described the outbreak as totally unacceptable and said it may be dealt with through the courts.

Prison service director Sean Aylward said he did want to minimise the seriousness of it but said it was the nature of the work for officers to deal with violent incidents.

Meanwhile, a prison officer whose home was daubed with obscene graffiti at the weekend last night revealed it was the fourth attack in the last three weeks.

The father of three, who lives in a plush Limerick suburb arrived home on Sunday to discover the back door of his 250,000 home kicked in. The words ‘screw’ and ‘scum’ were written on the door.

Gardaí at Roxboro garda station in Limerick are investigating.