Prisons inspector hits out at 'inhumane' conditions

20/04/2005 - 19:06:52
A scathing report into the Irish prison system was finally released tonight after being delayed by the Department of Justice for one year.

In it, the Inspector of Prisons Dermot Kinelan attacked the continued inhumane conditions in Mountjoy prisons, civil service bureaucracy, the lack of counsellors for sex offenders and the ’mantra of secrecy’ in the Department of Justice.

The retired High Court judge completed the report last April and it was scheduled to be published in July.

A Department of Justice spokesman said it had been delayed because of legal issues.

“Certain parts of the report have had to be deleted for legal reasons,” he said.

Mr Kinelan visited prisons at home and abroad and consulted with various interest groups as part of his inspection into the prison system.

He found prisoners in Mountjoy, which is soon to be closed, were being kept in most inhumane and degrading conditions.

He criticised the prison service for sending senior officials on first class flights to view institutions in Australia, the USA and other countries.

“In this day of modern telecommunications it should be possible to have video links so that you can have an entire conference without anyone leaving their home.”

On a visit to a Category B prison in Nottinghamshire, England, he met with the management there.

“I gave a general history of the commencement of my office and the lack of support and indeed ignorant opposition from certain officials,” he said.

The report describes how, more than a year and a half after his office was set up in 2002, the computer systems were still not working properly.

He said it was standard practice to address problems in the prison service by setting up a committee, with a director, two assistant directors, sub managers for each of them and so on.

“There is little or no political will to do anything. There are no votes in prisons. That is the view of some leading politicians to judge by their behaviour,” he said.

Mr Kinelan said the Irish Prison Service had seven directors, none of whom had prison experience but all of whom are senior officials who have been promoted from the Department of Justice.

“Most have at least one Deputy Director. There are four assistant directors each of whom seems to have at least two managers who seem to have several assistant managers and so it proceeds. However there are plans to expand this group.”

Mr Kinelan said the prison service was determined to take over the Probation and Welfare Service, the Chaplaincy Service and his own office.

He said that the Probation and Welfare service were the most dedicated and important group of people in the administration of criminal Justice

“They must be and be seen to be independent and as a better and cheaper alternatives to prisons.”

He visited probation services in the Moyross area of Limerick city, where offenders ran soccer teams, recycled paper into bricks for the Vincent de Paul and cleaned graffiti from the local school.

He also praised the work of the Coolamber Manor rehabilitation project, which is situated on a 150-acre farm in Longford.

“Everyone seems happy. They don’t have time to brood. It is an extremely impressive place run by a very enthusiastic and friendly staff. It could be expanded very considerably at very little extra cost.”

He added: “It does not require the involvement of the Irish Prison Service.”

The report is written in an informal style with accounts by Mr Kinelan of how he travelled to various locations, who he met and what they said to him.

In Cloverhill prison, he used a friend as an interpreter to talk to 19 Chinese prisoners.

“I got rice for them in place of potatoes. A sentenced Chinese prisoner now calls me ‘Mr Rice’!”

He found a new 9.4 million euro facility at St Patrick’s Institution to be an excellent facility but unsuitable for ‘14-year-old tearaways’.

“However, apparently it is going to be knocked down. It is such an excellent new building that a developer might use it as a school or some such institution.”

Mr Kinelan made 15 recommendations for change including:

:: the granting of the right of all TDs and Senators to visit prisons

:: the preparation of a booklet of prison rules for Visiting Committees, Governors and the Inspector of Prisons.

:: the eradication of the old mantra of secrecy in the Department of Justice

:: the funding of a psychology course by the Department of Finance to address the shortage of counsellors in prisons.

:: the urgent appointment of a totally independent prison inspectorate and the provision of pension rights for himself as the current Inspector of Prisons.