INQUIRY INTO OVERCROWDING AT JAIL

MASSIVE overcrowding at Mountjoy jail has been examined by a European
anti-torture committee, which created a major row on its last visit here
five years ago.

The 13-strong committee inspected a number of Garda stations and jails,
including Mountjoy and Limerick, as part of 10-day visit.

Wary of the bad publicity generated by the 1993 visit and the subsequent
scathing report of the committee, the Department of Justice last night
refused to disclose where the group had been over the past week.

The 1993 visit of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment created a furore gardai from
Finglas station threatened legal action when their lockers were broken into
with a screwdriver and hammer.

This year the committee is focusing on the critical cell accommodation
problem at Mountjoy where the prisoner population is regularly in excess of
the number regarded as safe by jail staff.

The Government is already facing the threat of industrial action by
Mountjoy staff who are demanding a guarantee from the Department of Justice
that emergency action will be taken when the ``safe'' number, estimated at
about 670, has been exceeded.

A ballot of staff for action has been completed and the move has been
sanctioned by the national executive of the Prison Officers Association
although a date has not yet been set. Staff had hoped the opening of
Castlerea prison would alleviate the pressure on Mountjoy.

But the crackdown on drug offenders, who account for up to 80pc of the
population in Mountjoy, and the closure of the revolving door, has meant
additional prisoners are now being held in the system.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan