'Chronically overcrowded' prisons making it 'impossible' for staff to do their job

Vivienne Clarke

The deputy general secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA), Gabriel Keavney, has warned that the “chronically overcrowded” prison system was making it “a truly impossible task” for his members to do their job.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland in advance of the association’s annual conference, Keavney pointed out that there were now 6,000 prisoners in custody, which the POA believed was between 1,300 and 1,500 over the figure that could be safely managed.

“Prisons are in an ongoing state of crisis. Our members are trying to manage this on a daily basis, and all the figures are in an upward trajectory across all the various headings.

“It's a truly impossible task that our members are being asked to do daily. I've never seen it so bad. This has an impact across the system really.”

The chronic overcrowding was having an impact on access to services. “And then with that, with overcrowding comes, obviously, the introduction of contraband drugs. We've seen over 400 drone drops this year alone. We believe it's more than that.

“Drug seizures are up by 28 per cent. Phone seizures are up by 31 per cent. Weapons seizures are up by 70 per cent.

"All this is a direct consequence of overcrowding. And in an overcrowding situation, unfortunately, the bully thrives and the vulnerable suffer in silence. That's the reality of what happens.”

Keavney said violent incidents against prison staff had increased from 1,093 in 2024 to 1,503 last year.

“That's up 37 per cent. Direct physical assaults are up by 23 per cent. Aggressive and threatening behaviour up 161 per cent. Physical interventions up by 28 per cent.

“Prisoner-on-prisoner direct physical assaults up by 37 per cent. We need to be able to manage these situations. The legislation for the introduction of incapacitant spray has been delayed. That needs to be a priority for the Minister. It was promised to us last year and the year before. We need to roll out the use of batons and we need to roll out of body-warning cameras.

“Prison officers need to be protected when they're doing their job in what is a highly violent situation.”

Around 600 prisoners were sleeping on mattresses on floors, he added. “It's a truly shocking indictment of government, to be quite honest.

“If you look at, say, Limerick prison, the female prison, designed to hold 56 females. There's 95 there. The Dochas was designed to hold 85. There's 220 there.

"The building programme is going to come far too late for a lot of those people. This should have been happening 10 years ago.

"And what they should be doing now is looking at the population of Ireland in general, looking and projecting and building accordingly. What they've been doing is building vanity projects, modular homes at a cost of €500,000 each for a modular home.

“You could build a five-bedroom detached house for a prisoner with that. You know, they're building Coronation Street style houses down in Castlereagh. We need cell blocks.

“We need cell blocks urgently to cater for the huge numbers.”