THE GOVERNOR of Ireland’s only female prison has resigned because of the “serious undermining” of her position and an “overall lack of respect by senior personnel in the Irish Prison Service”.
Kathleen McMahon officially leaves her post on May 21st after 10 years as governor of the Dóchas Centre in Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison and 33 years in the prison service.
In her resignation letter to the prison service authorities she said her role had been made “completely impossible” in recent months.
Ms McMahon strongly criticised the prison service, telling The Irish Timesit was now characterised by a lack of consultation with key staff in the jails. Rehabilitative facilities were also being negatively impacted.
The Dóchas Centre had become chronically overcrowded with up to 137 women housed in a centre designed for 85.
“Sometimes there are [prisoners’] babies as well. It is absolutely dreadful.”
Some women were being jailed for their failure to meet credit union payments. Large numbers were so low risk they should never have been jailed, she said.
Drugs, mainly tranquillisers known as “relaxers”, were still readily available despite new searches including sniffer dogs.
Ms McMahon said the regime within the centre had been designed to treat women with dignity and respect aimed at their successful reintegration into society.
However, the centre was now so overcrowded, the progressive regime was being cannibalised.
“I would say it probably would go back to the way it was years ago: self-mutilation, bullying, depression, lesbianism.”
She said she had been excluded from a recent decision to put bunk beds into rooms designed for one prisoner. “I raised this with senior management and sent e-mails about my concerns but none were even acknowledged,” she said.
The prison service was “afraid” that media coverage of the Dóchas Centre suggested the regime was too relaxed.
She believed a decision had been made to introduce a more punitive regime involving holding as many women as possible in an already overcrowded centre.
A new policy was also emerging of denying temporary release to low-risk prisoners for their child’s Confirmation or Communion.
“In my 33 years it would be very, very seldom to refuse for Confirmations and Communions. Some of these women are not in for serious offences.”
Ms McMahon's criticisms emerge on the same day Paul MacKay of Mountjoy's visiting committee writes in The Irish Timesof having complained of "appalling conditions" in the men's jail.