Overcrowding and confinement for up to 23 hours a day continue to blight the prison system, especially Mountjoy, according to the latest annual reports from the prison visiting committees.
The committees have provided reports on Mountjoy, Cork, Cloverhill and Wheatfield prisons to the Minister for Justice, who has published them on the department's website.
The committee said that beds in Mountjoy were unsuitable, and in 2011 many prisoners had to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Too many people were confined in small spaces for up to 23 hours per day, and financial constraints were not an excuse for this to continue for much longer, it said. It also recommended an enhanced programme of education.