Prison Service rejects link between incident in which 18 officers needed treatment and staff reforms. Liam Reid reports.
The Irish Prison Service has accused the Prison Officers' Association (POA) of "hyping up" an incident at Mountjoy prison yesterday as part of its campaign against proposed cuts to over-time levels in the service.
The POA claimed that attacks on members in Dublin and Limerick yesterday showed that the proposed reduction in staffing levels as a result of the reforms would place the safety of prison officers at risk.
However, a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said he was "saddened that they [the POA\] see the need to put such a construction that these episodes have some bearing on the industrial relations situation".
In all, 18 officers received medical attention after the incident in Mountjoy at around 10 a.m., which was sparked by two prisoners refusing to leave their cell on the B landing.
The prison officer dealing with the situation locked the door. When he opened the door after, one of the prisoners attempted to head-butt him. Other officers came to their colleague's assistance, and a melee ensued as they moved to restrain 12 prisoners on the landing who had also become involved in the disturbance.
Up to 70 prisoners were on an upper landing, and some threw the contents of "slopping-out" buckets at the officers below.
A spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said 18 officers received medical attention.
"Three of them received minor physical injuries, and the individual who was the subject of the attempted head-butting returned to work later on."
Prisoners at Mountjoy also mounted a sit-down protest over concerns about the impact of threatened industrial action on their conditions.
A prison officer's home was also attacked in Limerick.
In a statement yesterday, the POA said that, in light of these incidents, it was "quite incredible that the Minister and the Prison Service want to reduce the annual input of prison officers by up to one million hours.
"Quite apart from the fact that 99.4 per cent of our members rejected such a proposal, it is very clear that such a reduction in hours would greatly increase the risk to prison officers and indeed prisoners."
Mr Eugene Dennehy, deputy general secretary of the POA, said the association "is not hyping up what happened".
"What happened was a very serious situation. The 18 officers will all have to undergo HIV and hepatitis C tests for up to 12 months. This has huge implications for their family lives, especially their relationships with their spouses and partners."
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, recently announced reforms to cut down on the prison overtime bill, which costs €64 million annually. The proposed measures include the closure of two prisons and the privatisation of prison escorts.
A spokesman for the Prison Service said he would "deplore" intimidation or attack on prison officers. "However, I fail to see what this has to do with efforts to bring a responsible balance into our existing arrangements."