What they said about individual prisons.
Castlerea
It was a "matter of grave concern" to the committee that psychiatrically-ill prisoners were being committed to the jail. The bed shortage at the Central Mental Hospital should be addressed immediately. There was one suicide at the jail in 2003 and a number of attempted suicides. These highlighted the need for full psychiatric services in Castlerea. The prison has an "accommodation crisis" with up to 200 inmates being housed in accommodation designed for 146 beds. There is only one probation officer attached to the prison. This was inadequate.
Arbour Hill
There is only one psychologist working at the 140-bed prison despite its official allocation of two. " has to be a major cause of concern in a prison where a majority of the inmates are in acute need of therapeutic intervention," the report said. Similarly while there is an official allocation of two probation officers at the prison, for most of last year just one officer worked in Arbour Hill. There is a "grave need for this situation to be addressed urgently".
Cloverhill
There are "very unsatisfactory" difficulties in securing inmate transfers to the Central Mental Hospital due to a lack of accommodation there. The committee was also concerned at the number of inmates being held on remand and was in favour of a judicial system which would allow speedier decisions by the courts. Drugs continued to be thrown over the wall of the jail.
Cork Prison
Overcrowding at the jail has reached serious proportions with 270 offenders being housed in an area designed for 150. As many as six prisoners are sharing cells, without in-cell sanitation. Netting over the exercise yard was insufficient. As a result, drugs were being thrown into the yard. The committee was concerned weapons could be accessed by inmates in this way.
Curragh Place of Detention
The facility was closed earlier this year as part of a plan to reduce overtime within the prison service. On the closure the committee stated: "The Curragh is vital to the prison service in that it houses many elderly offenders who would find larger institutions more intimidating and would find such a transition very traumatic and therefore we beseech the Minister to reconsider the decision".
Limerick Prison
Drugs continue to be thrown into the exercise yard despite the construction of nets to prevent the practice. The current education facility at the jail is "inadequate". It cost €€1,300 per week to keep an inmate in prison. Despite this, released prisoners leave jail with little or no money. This makes it difficult to reintegrate into society. The committee was not permitted to visit another prison during the year.
There was one death at the prison during the year.
Loughan House
Some 33 inmates absconded from the minimum-security facility in 2003. As a result of cost cutting, the visiting committee was prevented by the Department of Justice from visiting any other jails last year.
Midlands Prison
There is no drugs treatment programme at the 515-bed prison despite the fact that an estimated 80 per cent of the crimes committed by prisoners were drug-related.
Psychiatric services are "virtually non-existent".
The recent transfer of prisoners from the (now closed) Curragh Place of Detention has put an added strain on medical services making the need for psychiatric and psychological services more pressing than ever. Probation and welfare services are understaffed.
Mountjoy
Padded cells continue to be used at the prison. This is despite an announcement by the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, 18 months ago that the cells would be replaced as soon as possible with special observation rooms. In-cell sanitation continues to be "draconian, primitive, unhygienic and unhealthy".
There were two suicides - one male in the main prison and one female in the women's Dochas Centre.
Portlaoise
One section of the prison, D Block, was condemned 40 years ago as being unfit to hold prisoners. However, it still holds inmates. It should be closed immediately. Medical services for prisoners continue to deteriorate. There is no full-time doctor at the 203-bed facility despite a growing number of new inmates presenting with drug dependency.
Shelton Abbey
The committee was strongly critical of a proposal to close the prison if overtime expenditure across the prison service is not greatly reduced. It said staff at Shelton Abbey had built up "an excellent knowledge" of working with offenders in an open environment. "In closing open centres you cut off an important lifeline for long-term offenders who can avail of the rehabilitative facilities and use it as a stepping stone back into society."
St Patrick's Institution
Workshops and training facilities were inadequate. Drugs continued to be thrown over the wall into the prison yard. A substantial number of inmates did not have the most basic of literacy skills. The language skills of many inmates are so poor their ability to construct oral sentences was limited. Despite this the educational services at the prison are limited by the availability of teachers from Dublin VEC. One inmate died in custody in 2003.
Wheatfield
There was one death in custody. One inmate was found unconscious in his cell. He was taken to hospital but died a short time later. There was one escape during the year.