The chaplain of Ireland's largest women's prison has gone on sick leave due to the "toxic environment of fear, indifference, hostility, and ineptitude” there.
Claire Hargaden told the director general of the Irish Prison Service that her health had got worse and she can't continue in her job, according to reports in The Irish Examiner.Ms Hargaden said life for lags at the Dóchas Centre in Dublin was "hell".
In a letter to her boss she wrote: “The women in custody here report to me that they live in fear.
"Upon making a complaint, some have found themselves under a spotlight and victims of harassment and further unfair treatment.
"To allow this to continue is simply morally wrong. Prisoners must be able to make a complaint and have the complaint examined fairly without fear of reprisal”.
She went on to list examples of how she was "actively sidelined, ignored and undermined" in her job.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice said they were alarmed by the reports.
In a joint statement the organisations said: "We believe that the lack of published prison inspection reports has potentially created an environment where everyone in the prison system, staff and prisoners alike, are vulnerable to mistreatment.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms any inhumane treatment of prisoners, and especially so during a pandemic when the resources made available to prisoners are curtailed."
They called on the Department of Justice to start an immediate review.
Ms Hardagen said staff at the prison have also approached her in tears.
Earlier this month the Irish Examiner published Ms Hargaden’s annual report for 2019, acquired through the Freedom of Information Act.
The prison service stopped publishing chaplain reports in 2010.
Her report listed a litany of alleged failures at the Dóchas Centre including overcrowding, reduced out-of-cell time, verbal abuse by "a small number of staff" and staff shortages.
The report stated: “In most cases, the women involved did not feel safe to make complaints in writing to the governor for fear of further penalisation from the staff involved.”
The IPRT and JCFJ added: "It is essential that a programme of robust prison inspections is now commenced and that reports by the Inspector of Prisons and Prison Visiting Committees are published in a timely fashion."
Director of the JCF, Kevin Hargaden, is married to the chaplain at the Dóchas Centre.
Both groups welcomed recent comments from Justice Minister Helen McEntee about a new Framework for the Inspection of Prisons in Ireland.
