Overcrowding in prisons is leading to intimidation and violence according to the Prison Officers Association.

The association's annual conference in Sligo today will hear how prisoners are forced to sleep on mattresses on floors because of increased numbers in the system.

Jim Mitchell, Deputy General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association (IPA), said the situation is leading to an increase in violence in Ireland’s prisons.

Violence

He said officers at Mountjoy Prison are facing some of the toughest working conditions.

“There is a huge degree of violence in prisons,” he said.

“It is exacerbated by the overcrowding issue and we still have significant levels of violence – particularly in places like Mountjoy.”

He said there is “an average of one assault per week by prisoners on staff” at Mountjoy.

“These kinds of assaults are where staff are cut or they are punched, they are bitten – that is what you are talking about in Mountjoy Prison,” he said.

“You have various elements of that across the State.”

Violent criminals

Mr Mitchell warned that the number of significant gang figures behind bars now stand at around 300 – up 50 over the last two years.

“We have been campaigning and looking for a specific place to go and put violent prisoners within the system,” he said.

“In the last year, the National Violence Reduction Unit was opened in the Midlands Prison,” he said.

“We recognise that this is a step forward but it can only house a maximum of ten prisoners – we have much more than ten violent prisoners within the system.”

Overcrowding

In a statement, IPA president Tony Power said prisoner numbers have been steadily on the rise in recent years.

“Taking one landing at the Midlands, initially designed to hold 38 prisoners, it regularly has prisoner numbers in excess of 65 and this is mirrored in many of the prisons,” he said.

“Overcrowding provides the perfect atmosphere for the bully to thrive and exert huge pressure on vulnerable prisoners, in particular to traffic in contraband – including weapons and illegal drugs.

“Serious violence is often part of the scenario here and we prison officers pay the inevitable price.

“Overcrowding puts both prisoners and prison officers at unnecessary risk – and this is totally unacceptable.”

"Major challenges"

He said the problem “always and ever creates major challenges for prison officers on the ground.”

He said the IPS Strategy Statement calls for Training Unit in Mountjoy to be reopened – but “not one red cent has been spent on it since the decision was taken to close it in 2016.”

He said nobody wants a return to “pack em, stack em and rack em” days of the past – and urged the Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan not to allow Ireland’s prisons to regress on his watch.