18 in hospital after jail violence
Eighteen prison officers are in hospital after three separate incidents involving prisoners and staff in Irish jails.
The prison service today voiced its concerns following the incidents. Violence erupted at Dublin’s Mountjoy prison this morning after two inmates refused to leave their cell.
One officer was head-butted and others had boiling water and urine thrown over them as they came to his assistance.
It is believed ten prisoners were involved in the incident in the jail’s B-wing, which houses many long-term prisoners.
Three officers are being treated for cuts and bruises and a further 15 are being examined for contamination, having been on a lower floor when prisoners emptied chamber pots and a flask of boiling water over the landing.
Shortly afterwards around 100 prisoners in Mountjoy’s D-block staged a sit down protest against potential industrial action from prison officers currently involved in a dispute over working hours.
“The inmates were highlighting their concerns about what would happen to them in the event of industrial action,” said a prison service spokesman.
“It was a peaceful protest and the prison governor went and explained to them that the officers’ main obligation was to look after people in custody and that their needs would always come first.”
The protesters dispersed after half and hour.
Meanwhile it has emerged that a prison officer’s home in Limerick was broken into at the weekend and paint daubed on the walls while he and his family were out.
Eugene Dennehy, deputy general secretary of the Prison Officer’s Association described the incident as very disturbing and very serious.
“The officer and his young family are very concerned and very worried this was a huge intrusion into their lives and it could happen again,” said My Dennehy.
“The graffiti made it absolutely clear that this attack was because he was a prison officer.
“The prison service is a cornerstone of the criminal justice system and any attack on the prison service is an attack on society.
“This must be stamped out.”
The officer involved was a prison service instructor who awards certification to inmates, enabling them to work when they are released.
Mr Dennehy said the POA would be meeting the directors of the Irish prison service in relation to the incident.
A prison service spokesman said that he deplored any action which involved attacks or vandalism on its staff.
“We strongly condemn the incident although the full details are not yet clear,” he said.
Gardaí in Limerick are investigating the break-in.
