by Kathy Masterson
A NATIONAL review of the penal system has once again highlighted concerns regarding the living conditions in the women’s section of Limerick prison, which is one of the two most overcrowded prisons in the country.
The Strategic Review of Penal Policy published by the Department of Justice this week noted that the planned redevelopment of the women’s section, which would include new accommodation for female prisoners, has “made little progress”.
The review stated that the two female prisons, Dóchas Centre and Limerick, are now the most overcrowded prisons in the State. Prison overcrowding impacts the level of services which can be offered in prisons and of itself creates barriers to rehabilitation and reintegration.”
It added that overcrowding can lead to “arguments between women, inadequate services and regimes, lack of privacy and general tension” and that such problems are “further exacerbated by the inadequate physical condition” of the women’s prison in Limerick.
The report noted that steps are being taken to address the concerns, but that the review group was “particularly concerned at the level of facilities and services” in Limerick and highlighted the need for “urgent and long term” improvements.
The review also pointed out that nationally, the number of female prisoners has increased, while the male prison population has seen a decline, and criticised the lack of open prison facilities for women.
Figures from March of this year showed that Limerick womens’ prison was operating at 111 per cent capacity, while the Dóchas Centre which is attached to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin was at 127 per cent capacity.
Earlier this year the conditions for Limerick women prisoners were described as “inhuman” by peace activist, Margaretta D’Arcy after she served part of a second prison sentence over her opposition to the US military use of Shannon Airport.
The 80-year-old campaigner was released by prison authorities after serving nine of the fourteen day sentence last July. Although in ill health, she had been abstaining from food in an act of solidarity with victims of war around the world.
“There’s a toilet in the cell with no lid on it and that’s the same room where we eat our meals. The window is small and boarded over so you don’t see daylight until you get out to the yard for exercise and when we get out there, there are not enough benches, so the women have to lie on the tarmac in the sun,” she told the Limerick Post after her release.
“Prisoners are only allowed out of their cells for six hours a day and if something happens, they are then locked up around the clock. Unlike the Dóchas Centre in Mountjoy, Limerick prisoners have to eat in their cells. They also have to go to the toilet in the cell and I think this is unacceptable”, she added.
Although a spokesperson for the Prison Service said they didn’t comment on what was said by released prisoners, he said that a capital plan for the entire prison service had been in place since 2012 and part of that plan was to eliminate slopping out and the upgrading of outdated buildings, such as the A and B buildings at Limerick Prison.
“They will be demolished and replaced with completely new accommodation, that will meet with best international practice. We hope to be able to advance that as soon as the finance is in place,” he said.
