A planned meeting between prison officers and management at Mounjoy Prison in Dublin has been postponed after the union representing the workers said it would ballot for industrial action.
The two sides were due to meet on Friday to discuss a walk-out by prison officers yesterday following the transfer of a prisoner from Castlerea.
In a statement tonight, the Irish Prison Service said the meeting had been arranged in advance of the 'wildcat' industrial action at Mountjoy yesterday.
It had also been arranged prioer to the stated intention of the Prison Officers' Association to hold a ballot for industrial action up to and including strike action.
The service said it was seeking clarification from the union on the matter, and accordingly the meeting scheduled for Friday was postponed.
The governor of Mountjoy, Edward Whelan, continued to be available to meet with local union representatives to discuss local issues.
Speaking earlier today, Mr Whelan said the safety of staff at the country’s largest jail is paramount.
He said he will continue to take every step necessary to ensure the safety of both staff and prisoners, adding: “Nobody is more concerned about the safety of staff than myself.”
He criticised the walkout by prison officers yesterday, saying: “There are agreed industrial relations mechanisms for dealing with grievances, and these should be followed.”
Some 200 prison officers refused to return to work at 2pm yesterday over the transfer of an inmate from solitary confinement in Castlerea.
Leroy Dumbrell was moved to Mountjoy yesterday after winning a court challenge to his detention in solitary confinement in Castlerea Prison earlier this month.
The officers returned to work shortly before 6pm but will be balloted for industrial action, up to and including strike action, over the next seven to 10 days.
The union said the issue was not the arrival of a disruptive prisoner but the change of regimes in the separation unit.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Whelan said Dumbrell was not a disruptive prisoner, but a protection prisoner. He added that wildcat industrial action by the prison officers had put the security of the prison at risk.
“They put the security and safety of staff that were in the prison at risk because we only had a very small staff on duty from 2pm to 6pm yesterday evening”.
Dumbrell was jailed in 2006 for assaulting Nigel Reid who was out walking his dog when attacked. Mr Reid lost the sight of his left eye in the assault.
He had more than 50 previous convictions and was on bail for another assault when he attacked Mr Reid in 2004.