by Andrew Carey
DANGEROUS criminals were left locked in vans outside Limerick Prison for over two hours on Tuesday night as prison officers staged a work-to-rule in a dispute over management of the country’s prisons.
A pregnant woman was among the two dozen prisoners locked in the five vans on the road outside the main entrance on Mulgrave Street.
The industrial action was sparked by an instruction for officers to work an extra 20 minutes at the end of their shifts and proposals that would prevent officers leaving the jail during official breaks.
A source within the prison service described Tuesday night’s events as being “ridiculous, to the point of getting very dangerous”.
He claimed the dispute could be “easily fixed by prison management or their bosses if they stuck to the conditions of Haddington Road public service agreement”.
“They want us to work more hours for no extra money. The prisons will be out of control if this keeps going”, he said.
Prison officers, who have had to deal with a reduction in their staff numbers, say they are having a daily struggle to manage criminals in what is already a dangerous environment.
Tuesday night’s lockout occurred as five prison vans returned from courts around the country, including return trips to Clonmel and Dublin. The prison vans were described as “cattle trucks” by one Limerick defence barrister during a recent trial.
Concern has been expressed that the industrial action could escalate to the point where prisoners will not be brought to court sittings and prison officers will go on strike.
Visitors are also expected to experience delays as the prison officers scale back on goodwill usually offered.
“It’s nothing against those people. This is an issue that goes further up the chain and can be resolved.
There was no comment from the Irish Prison Service at the time of going to press.
