IRELAND’S SHAME AS EUROPEAN TORTURE COMMITTEE PRESENTS DAMNING INDICTMENT OF IRISH PRISON SYSTEM

The fifth report on Ireland from the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Degrading Treatment (CPT), published today (Thursday, 10^th Feb 2011), is the most critical yet, and a damning indictment of a prison system that is failing to meet the most basic human rights standards of safe and humane custody. The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT), Ireland’s leading penal reform campaign organisation, is calling on all election candidates to take heed of this national disgrace and commit to rectifying the many human rights issues identified in the report, including slopping out, overcrowding, escalating violence, patchy provision of health care including mental health care, and above all, the failure to provide safe custody.

During the CPT’s last visit to Ireland, which took place from 25^th January to 5^th February 2010, the Committee also examined detention in Garda stations and psychiatric institutions. However, the bulk of the report is given over to detailing the appalling human rights issues in Ireland’s prisons. The critical issues of prison healthcare and complaints receive particularly serious censure.

Speaking on the publication of the report, Liam Herrick, Executive Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust said:

“This report further documents a prison system in crisis, with clear failures in many important aspects of the system – including in relation to healthcare, prisoner protection and investigation of complaints against staff.  Undoubtedly some of the problems identified here stem from chronic prison overcrowding and inadequate penal policies, but many of the most serious issues highlight failures at an operational level to meet the most basic standards of safe and humane custody.”

“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 bottom line is that prisoners and the general public are left with a prison system that is unacceptable and which has exposed Ireland to international shame.  The next Government must prioritise addressing the problems in our prisons, and commit to getting prisoner numbers down.”

There were 3,150 prisoners in custody when the CPT visited in October 2006; this number had reached 4,100 on the occasion of the CPT’s 2010 visit to Ireland. On 25^th January 2011, prisoner numbers were 4,541. Efforts being taken by the Irish Prison Service to address the issues cannot succeed unless Government take control of the overcrowding situation, which frustrates any attempts to tackle the serious problems outlined in this report.

Individual Prisons

Cork, Mountjoy and Limerick female prisons come in for particular criticism:

Cork: the CPT found plastic bags being used as toilets (paragraph 41), unacceptable dirty segregation cells (96) and inadequate visiting facilities (99).  Prisoners also reported only being able to access one shower and change of underwear each week.  The State’s response to these criticisms referred to the proposed new prison at Kilworth – a plan which is now acknowledged to be suspended indefinitely.

Limerick female prison: the CPT found women having to sleep two to a bed because of chronic overcrowding.  They also found blocked showers and flooding in cells (42)

Mountjoy prison: the persistent problems of overcrowding in chronic conditions were reinforced by the CPT, who found the prison in an overall poor state of repair (45). The criteria for placement at Mountjoy for those prisoners not deemed vulnerable was “available space, or even floor space”.

St. Patrick’s Institution: The CPT was concerned at the length of time prisoners were spending in their cells and the high number of prisoners not engaged in any meaningful activity (52)

Critical Issues

Among other issues, the Committee found:

• Complaints: Some of the most serious concerns in the report relate to allegations of mistreatment of prisoners by staff, where the Committee points to inadequate investigation of complaints, poor recording of alleged incidents, and inadequate or no medical examination of prisoners who make complaints. (30-31; 34) Clearly there is a major deficit of oversight and accountability, and this report highlights how an independent system of investigation is needed, similar to that which now prevails for Garda custody. (102-105)
• Prison health care: the CPT found inadequate provision of prison healthcare, recording that in some prisons doctors were not fulfilling contracted hours, even where these hours were already wholly inadequate.  Serious concerns also expressed about prescribing methadone at Cork, Midlands, Mountjoy (74). Some particularly worrying incidents were reported in relation to inadequate treatment of a HIV positive prisoner (63); of a prisoner being chained to staff during medical treatment in the Midlands (65); and of a prisoner being forced to undergo withdrawal from heroin while subjected to slopping out in Cork (75). Overall the keeping of medical records was found to be inadequate (67), with prisoners not receiving medical examination on admission at Cork or Mountjoy (68 and 70) – this has very serious implications for investigating any allegations of mistreatment.
• Risk Assessment: Across the prison system, the Committee found no basic admission or induction policy in place (except at Midlands prison) including no cell-share risk assessment procedure – which is especially worrying given serious incidents, including homicide, in shared cells in recent years.
• Slopping out: the CPT rejected the State’s contention that toilet patrols operated effectively, and reported that they found prisoners were often not allowed out of cells at night and reported being subjected to verbal abuse when they asked for access to toilets (48)
• Psychiatric care: the CPT found mental health care to be inadequate, particularly in Cork where there was poor record keeping, over-reliance on medication and dirty observation cells. They report on one case in Wheatfield prison, where a prisoner was held in a special observation cell for 6 weeks and worsened in condition during that time.
• Protection and punishment: The report contains a shocking description of the high numbers on 23-hour lock up for protection (56), including high numbers in St. Patrick’s Institution (57).  The CPT also found improper use of special observation cells for discipline (81), including an incident where a disciplinary hearing took place in a special observation cell while prisoner in underpants.  It found routine use of de facto solitary confinement being imposed for up to 60 days, which is illegal under the Prisons Act.
• Racism: concerns raised in the report which had not appeared in previous reports include accounts of allegations of racism against Travellers and foreign prisoners by staff and other prisoners (29, 32.)

Prison Figures:

• On 25th Jan 2011, the prison population was 4,541 (Source: Irish Prison Service)
• On 2^nd February 2011, there were 41 boys in St Patrick’s Institution: 6 sixteen-year olds; 35 seventeen-year olds. (Source: Irish Prison Service)
• On 17th Dec 2010, 1,003 men were required to slop out in Irish prisons: 515 in Mountjoy Prison; 299 prisoners in Cork prison, all in shared cells (sharing with 1-2 others); 51 in Portlaoise Prison; 99 in Limerick Prison (male).  (Source: Dáil Question, 27^th Jan 2011 )

On 26th January 2011, there were 250 prisoners on 23-hour or more lock-up (for reasons of protection); 26 on 22-23 hour lock-up; 164 on 20-22 hr lock-up (including 57 in St Patrick’s Institution) and 60 on 18-20 hr lock-up. (Source: Dáil Question, 27th January 2011)