The governor of the State's largest jail last night said he was optimistic that a dispute between prison officers and the Minister for Justice over plans for the prison service would not lead to industrial action.
However, Mr John Lonergan, governor of Mountjoy Prison, warned against making prison officers the "fall guys" in the dispute, which also concerns the issue of overtime pay.
"We wouldn't want to make prison officers the fall guys in all of this. From my own experience, prison officers do a very thankless job for society. They seldom get any type of recognition for the public service they do. The only type of reward they get is pay and conditions and as a result of that I don't think it's fair to make them the fall guys," said Mr Lonergan.
"The last thing the Irish Prison Service wants is an industrial dispute. It damages everybody. It damages life at the prison and the life of the prison officer. There are huge repercussions for everybody concerned and it creates bitterness. Being an optimistic myself, I am hopeful of a solution."
Mr Lonergan agreed that this year's overtime bill of €64 million for prison officers had to be tackled, though only in a situation where prison officers were being paid adequately.
"I don't believe that anyone disagrees with the need to tackle the overtime bill once and for all, but that creates issues around staffing and providing 24-hour, seven day a week staffing. I think it has to be resolved around people getting decent pay for doing a very difficult job and getting adequate time off," said Mr Lonergan.
The governor of Mountjoy Prison made his comments in Limerick last night where he addressed a seminar organised by the ALJEFF Treatment Centre Organisation - a group involved in alcohol and drug awareness initiatives in the city.
ALJEFF was founded in 2000 by a Limerick man, Mr Tommy Roche, in memory of his two brothers, Alan and Jeffrey, who took their own lives within a week of each other.