THE modern female wing of Limerick Prison, which officially opened last October, was the most overcrowded jail in the country this Wednesday (September 4), operating at 145 per cent bed capacity.
Hopes had been expressed by the prison visiting committee in a 2022 report that overcrowding at the prison could be eliminated and “inmates transferred to the new building as soon as possible”.
However, there were 81 female prisoners in custody this Wednesday at the jail, which has bed capacity for 56.
There were 339 male prisoners in custody at the prison, which has capacity for 286 inmates.
Prisoners have been sleeping on camp beds in the medium security prison for adult males from counties Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, and for females from all six Munster counties.
The new female wing is based on the trauma-informed Scandinavia model, which aims to foster rehabilitation and reduce recidivism.
The cells in the women’s wing are referred to as “rooms” and each has en suite shower and toilet facilities, along with a television, a bed, a work desk, and a telephone.
There are eight assisted living apartments in the new wing, including one that allows for expectant mothers to live and bond for a year with their baby while inside the prison.
The 2022 prison visiting committee reports for prisons have only just been published by the Department of Justice, and detail overcrowding across the country, and how services such as education and medical appointments for prisoners have been hampered by a lack of prison staff across the prison estates.
