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THERE IS STILL a long way to go before it ends completely, but new figures show that the number of prisoners forced to slop out in Mountjoy Prison is at the lowest level in years.
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter told the Dail that a long-awaited refurbishment of parts of the Dublin prison has finished, meaning fewer prisoners are now being forced to undertake the antiquated practice.
Ireland’s prisons have been criticised as inhuman and degrading for making prisoners use buckets or commodes in cells which are often shared with other people.
The new upgrade to cells in two Mountjoy wings mean a total of 317 cells – almost 60 per cent of the total number – now have in-cell sanitation in the 162-year-old prison. Minister Shatter described the refurbishment as a “significantly improved physical environment” for prisoners.
However this means that 2 out of every 5 prisoners are still forced to slop out every morning.
Liam Herrick, the head of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, welcomed the move as a positive step but said that problems remain within the Irish prison system.
“The Irish Prison Service is on track to end slopping out over the next three years which is in itself positive,” he told TheJournal.ie. “However there are other problems in the prison system that look likely to persist, and the lack of access to toilets is just one element of that”.
Herrick praised the renovations in Mountjoy for ensuring single occupancy cells as “doubling up is a major problem” when prisoners are forced to slop out in front of cellmates.
“The problem isn’t just confined to older prisons; newer prisons are affected too because of high levels of overcrowding,” said Herrick.
Most countries in the EU have abolished or scaled back on slopping out but it remains used to an unusually high degree in Ireland.
“Inhuman, degrading and chaotic”
A report released earlier this year by Peter McVerry and the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice found around 20 per cent of the total prison population in Ireland do not have access to proper toilets, with a majority also sharing cells.
The government has already committed to end the practice – although the same commitment has been made by governments dating back to 2003. However it may actually happen this time: the Irish Prison Service published a strategic plan for 2012-2015 earlier this year in which it commits to provide toilets in all cells in all prisons over the next forty months.
The Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, who has written sharp, engaging reports on the bad conditions in Ireland’s prisons’, has repeatedly described slopping out at Mountjoy as ‘inhuman’, ‘degrading’ and ‘chaotic’.
In one recent report, he described the scene in Mountjoy in the mornings:
Prisoners often have to queue to ‘slop out’. The total contents of their ‘slop out’ buckets or pots do not always end up in the slop hoppers but splash on the surrounding floor or worse onto the prisoners. In certain prisons the slop hoppers were invariably dirty. The facilities for cleaning the ‘slop out’ buckets or pots was inadequate. The smell in most of these areas was unacceptable.
Reilly noted that prisoners were sometimes able to avail of a ‘toilet patrol’ some evenings where they could use ‘dilapidated but private’ toilets in the prison, but said but these rarely happen now due to staff not being available.
The Committee for the Prevention of Torture has described slopping out as humiliating for prisoners and debasing for the prison officers who have to supervise it.
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The longer it takes the more interest AIB will have to pay won’t they?
The bailout is bigger than 21 Billion, the low interest rates and DIRT @ 41% are not taken into account.
True Martin but the more interest they have to pay , the longer it will take for them to get back to profitability.
Future tax on profits written off against taxpayer covered debts.
Profits earned for a large part by charging crazy customers fees to those that bailed them out.
Investment ?!! More like theft !!
Woohoo we’ll all be rich again. I’ve an option on some apartments in Bulgaria if anyone’s interested?
Bulgaria is old news Kim, Cape Verde is where its at, the new Canaries!… Ryan Air will be flying there soon. Yer man from Cork that knows about the money is selling them!
Brendan oil own fake is it ?
I like your style Ronan, just for that I’ll throw in a hot tub.
Brendan Investments …come on now people keep up ….
The Irish taxpayer paid out €21 Billion to bail out the Bank, then the senior bailed the pension fund with over €1.5 Billion, they retired on huge Pensions. Then they closed the pension to new members. The tax payer is paying 1000 staff salaries of over €100,000. Tax payers are taken to the cleaners by the AIB. You would want to be a gxxxxxxe to Bank with them.
In 1984, AIB was bailed out, at a cost of £400 million to the Irish taxpayer, when its subsidiary (ICI) collapsed. The following year AIB paid out a dividend to its shareholders, while still in-hoc to the taxpayer.
Less than 25 years later AIB was back, cap in hand, for another draw down.
As from the last budget, it would appear, the government will, now, be incentivising even greater incompetence and negligence through its revised taxation policy.
I despise that bloody bank, really actively despise it, I have more respect for a junkie thief than I have for anyone working for it.
Saw that in the paper today, Martin. I nearly choked on me sandwich. 1000 AIB staff on over €100,000. Nothing has changed, these people live in a different world, on our money and nobody seems to care.
All the sheeple red arrowing me- the type that doff their cap to their “betters”
A bankrupt state in tatters because of AIB- generations enslaved to paying for this God awful mess and these sad sacks red arrow someone pointing out how despicable this bank is- third time being bailed out by the tax payers and it’s these clowns attitude will see them bankrupt us again.
Anybody that owes the AIB money shouldn’t pay it until they give all that money back to the taxpayers
jaysus!
yep – this is a brilliant idea and will definitely help the borrower, the lender and the State finances all in one go.
I look forward to the next economic marvel from you Denise.
Well we’ll keep it so until you do – all of it ! not 75% ……” there’s a big bonus for ye lads and a few share options Isn’t the Irish public really stupid”,
ALL OF IT !
A fraction of this €21b would fix our water system and therefore no need for any Irish Water charges
That’s like €4.5k for each citizen. That would give the local economy some boost. Can I expect a cheque in the post?
Too f***ing late AIB the people have already had to suffer from your mess
Well they could start by returning the €18 they stole from my account, which f***ed up a direct debit payment.
If we get double digits billions back from the bank we will be doing well. AIB isn’t worth 21 billion.
The big swing is the taking back the provisions for bad loans which were the worse worse case. That’s why they made big losses as they had to put huge money aside and now they don’t need it so they can take some and call it a profit.
But that’s a short term thing as the economy improves and losses reduce. They still haven’t shown they can make money long term.
IF I was a sausage I’d dance at the crossroads with a pink tutu on, while reciting the government ignored out of copyright amhran na bfhiann backwards on a bicycle !
What about some decking Kim, a hot tub and some decking and im in!! I already have one in Kusadasi.
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It’s about time we took our fingers out of our holes and marched on the banks think about what they done to this country and how easy they got away with it . FFs Ireland’s paying 42% of the over all debt of the eu, so how dose the smallest end up paying the most
Bing!
So how much will my bank shares be worth by then…??
As Paul said they will be worth “Bing”
I have got to be the worlds lousiest fairy.
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