The number of women in prison in the State rose to its highest in recent decades within the past fortnight, the governor of Mountjoy prison in Dublin has said. Mr John Lonergan said it was extraordinary that at a time of economic buoyancy the numbers of women in jail peaked at 110 in Mountjoy and Limerick prisons.
This was about five times the number of female prisoners 20 years ago and about three times the numbers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to Mr Lonergan. "At a time when people would be talking about a whole lot of advantages and improvements in society, this is an indication of something - that in 2001 we have a phenomenally high number of women in prison," he said.
Mr Lonergan said he was sure the increase was "connected into feelings of isolation and loneliness and being totally disconnected to mainstream society". Up to 25 per cent of the women were homeless or living in "very dodgy" accommodation situations. As accommodation became harder to find and more expensive, these women had a slim chance of finding places to live, he said.
"They are living by and large on the sides of the streets, while they may be given hostel accommodation some spend their lives dossing with other people and sleeping rough, and as women they are particularly at risk. We have come across women who have been seriously abused," he said.
Mr Lonergan said some of the women got a quality of care in the women's prison that they wouldn't get anywhere else. "That's an accolade but it also shows that they see prison not as a place of punishment but a place of refuge, and that's a social issue that needs to be addressed." Accommodation was getting more difficult to secure, especially for the type of women who were young, usually addicted, unemployed and from dysfunctional backgrounds. In the last two weeks he housed 96 prisoners in the women's section which was opened in 1999. During this period, 14 women were being held in Limerick prison. He said the number in Mountjoy jail had fallen to 78 yesterday. The prison holds 75 women, with any overspill catered for in its healthcare unit.
Mr Lonergan said if the numbers increased again he would be forced to reopen the prison's separation unit.