Prison governors warned the Government earlier this year that the prison officers' union, the Prison Officers' Association (POA), held "absolute control" over the service. They also told of "outrageous" overtime procedures.
The governors' warnings, in a memo to Government sent earlier this year during a review of the prison service, contained details of overtime payments to prison officers. The overtime bill accounts for some 20 per cent of the service's £150 million.
These details, acquired by The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act from the Department of Finance which was in negotiations about the changes to the prisons system, show that one prison officer in Mountjoy earned a salary of £63,214. This was more than the salaries of the most senior civil servants at the time. Secretaries of Government Departments received £62,732. Four other prison officers in Mountjoy were paid over £56,000.
The memo also details sickleave rates in Mountjoy and Portlaoise. These show an average of 18 sick-leave days per POA member in Mountjoy, and 20 in Portlaoise. This is double the national average.
One of the papers released includes details of sick leave between 1993 and 1996 in Mountjoy and Portlaoise.
In 1996 the 619 prison officers in Mountjoy clocked up 11,088 sick days, an average of around 18. In the same year, the 310 prison officers in Portlaoise clocked up 6,1985 sick days, an average of 20 each.
The governors commented on this figures: "Excessive sick leave and absenteeism contribute significantly to staffing costs."
The governors pointed to a remarkable arrangement whereby prison officers receive overtime entitlements while they are absent on sick leave.
"The practice of allowing prison officers in many prisons to build up overtime entitlements while they are absent on sick leave is outrageous. On their return to duty, officers are given first call on any overtime so that they can be compensated for whatever overtime they missed while on sick leave.
"The exorbitant overtime earned by many discipline staff has become a most undesirable feature of the entire prison service."
The governors said they attempted to reduce the amount of sick leave in the mid-1990s, including the dismissal of staff claiming inordinate amounts. However, their strategy was overturned by the POA.
They said: "We are aware of many difficult meetings between the personnel section [of the Department of Justice] and the Prison Officers' Association to have this policy of targeting abusers of sick leave terminated. It is clear that the Prison Officers' Association were successful once again as the strategy was terminated towards the end of 1994."
The governors' submission to the Government said they had been excluded from the management of the prisons system and that this centralised management under the Department of Justice was "unique and unsustainable".
It would appear that the Government accepted this argument as it announced last week, before the release of these papers, that it was transferring management of the prison system to a new Prisons Authority separate from the Department but under the overall control of the Minister.
The governors' memo states: "The present central management system and structures have been in place since 1928. This system is grossly inadequate, ineffective and incapable of providing the type of operational leadership and management expertise required in the Irish prison service.
"Prison governors have lost confidence in the present central management system and have communicated this to the Department of Justice on a number of occasions. Accordingly, we are strongly opposed to any cosmetic changes to the present out-of-date and out-of-touch system.
"We have already brought to your notice the absolute control held by the Prison Officers' Association over the effective and efficient management of the Irish prison service.
"We submit that not alone has the present management system failed to effectively manage this challenge; worse still it has greatly contributed to it. The stark reality is that meaningful cost-effectiveness and efficiency within the Irish Prison Service will not be achieved while this situation exists."
The governors also added: "Almost every single operational decision is influenced by either political considerations or trade union interests and usually to the detriment of good management practice in the prison service."
The Government refused to release to The Irish Times a part of the governors' submission entitled "Role and Influence of the Prison Officers' Association", giving as a reason only "Government paper".
On overtime, the governors said payments now account for £30 million out of a total prisons budget of £150 million. The total salary bill accounts for about 80 per cent of the budget.
The governors said: "The `golden goose' culture prevalent throughout the prison service must be confronted. The widely-held belief that there is no limit to financial resources has contributed greatly to the malaise.
"The records show that the present central management structures are totally incapable of controlling costs."
