URGENT ACTION to reform the Irish prison system has been called for,
following a European human rights report which found degrading, inhumane
and unsafe conditions in prisons.
Prison chaplains welcomed publication of the report and said they hoped it would finally lead to a reform of the system.
The
report, by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture,
outlined allegations of assaults by prison officers on inmates; regular
stabbings and attacks in Mountjoy Prison; haphazard drug rehabilitation;
and allegations of racism.
The committee is part of the Council of Europe, the body behind the European Convention on Human Rights.
Head
prison chaplain Fr Ciarán Enright said chaplains’ reports in recent
years had made similar findings but there was no political will to
improve conditions in prisons, and conditions had steadily worsened.
“People working in the prison system in Ireland have been crying out for change for so long,” he said.
“If
we can’t treat prisoners with basic human dignity we have no hope of
changing their lives for the better . . . Maybe one more report will
finally make some difference.”
He said the incoming government must review penal policy and examine alternatives to prison.
The
Irish Penal Reform Trust said the report was “a damning indictment of a
prison system that is failing to meet the most basic human rights
standards of safe and humane custody”.
Its director Liam Herrick said the report had exposed Ireland to international shame.
“This
report shows a litany of broken commitments and inaction in relation to
chronic problems over the past two decades. There has been a failure of
leadership to address the problems within our prisons.”
The Irish
Council for Civil Liberties said the incoming government must act
swiftly to implement recommendations made by the European committee.
Its
director Mark Kelly said there must be a full Dáil debate on the
committee’s findings and an interdepartmental group must be charged with
implementing the recommendations.
The report recommends Irish
authorities intensify their efforts to tackle inter-prisoner violence at
Mountjoy.
It says the authorities should continue to improve access to
psychiatric care in all prisons.
Senior prison officers should also
regularly remind their subordinates that the ill-treatment of detained
persons will result in severe sanctions.