THE NUMBER of inmates in Mountjoy Prison has exceeded 600 just a day after Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said he was committed to keeping numbers below that figure for safety reasons.
The Irish Times has established that 605 inmates were housed in the prison overnight on Thursday into yesterday morning.
Mr Ahern on Thursday issued his statement after Inspector of Prisons Judge Michael Reilly said chronic overcrowding was putting the lives of inmates and safety of staff at risk.
In a report on the prison, Judge Reilly pointed out that numbers had reached 680 at some points in recent months. This was despite Mountjoy having a bed capacity of 573 and being designed to hold 498. He said these levels of overcrowding meant over 100 inmates were sleeping on mattresses on the floor of the jail in the basement, reception areas and in shower rooms.
Overcrowded basement cells represented a dangerous environment for housing inmates in groups overnight and this was putting the lives of prisoners at risk.
Judge Reilly said he believed the jail could operate safely only if inmate numbers were kept at 540 or lower.
Mr Ahern responded in a written statement that the overcrowding issue would be addressed.
He said the director general of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) Brian Purcell was committed “in so far as is practicable to keep the population of Mountjoy below 600”.
However, reliable sources have told The Irish Times that the inmate headcount in the prison yesterday morning, just one day after Mr Ahern’s commitment on overcrowding, was 605.
A spokesman for Mr Ahern last night said a number of projects were already well advanced that would help address overcrowding across the prison system.
He said 100 new spaces had just been opened at Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon. Another 200 would be opened at Portlaoise Prison, Co Laois, by the end of next month while a further 200 would be opened in Wheatfield Prison, Dublin, by the end of this year.
Judge Reilly said in his report that he accepted a new jail was being planned for Thornton Hall, north Co Dublin, that would replace Mountjoy. However, these plans did not excuse the overcrowding and other problems currently at Mountjoy, which should be rectified immediately.