Prison Service launches inquiry into death

The Prison Service has launched an investigation into the death of a 22-year-old man who was found hanging in his cell at Arbour Hill prison yesterday evening.

The man, who was from the Dublin area, was found by a prison officer in his cell with a ligature around his neck at 6 p.m.

A Prison Service spokesman said the man had asked for permission to remain in his cell while other inmates were on recreation.

Despite the efforts of prison staff and an ambulance team, he did not regain consciousness and was pronounced dead in hospital shortly afterwards.

The dead man was serving a three-month sentence for criminal damage, and was also on remand awaiting trial on another unspecified charge.

The spokesman said the gardaí had been notified and would now be conducting an investigation in injunction with the Prison Services suicide prevention committee.

There were two suicides in Irish prisons last year. Around 10,000 people pass through the prison system each year, with an average of 2,300 people incarcerated at any given time.