Prison officers have blasted jail bosses who are allowing dangerous over-crowding in Irish prisons.
Union boss Tony Power was speaking ahead of the group’s annual conference in Sligo.
The president of the Prison Officers’ Association said: “Overcrowding provides the perfect atmosphere for the bully to thrive and exert huge pressure on vulnerable prisoners in particular to traffic in contraband, including weapons and illegal drugs.
“Serious violence is often part of the scenario here and we prison officers pay the inevitable price.
“Overcrowding puts both prisoners and prison officers at unnecessary risk – and this is totally unacceptable”
Mr Power said overcrowding is a massive issue across all prisons.
He explained: “Over the last year it made an unwelcome return to our prisons – a problem, which always and ever creates major challenges for prison officers on the ground.
“The IPS Strategy Statement refers to the reopening of the Training Unit in Mountjoy, but Minister, not one red cent has been spent on it since the decision was taken to close it in 2016.
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“So we need to clarity on this issue as a matter of urgency”
In one prison alone Mr Power revealed that one landing in the Midlands was holding twice as many prisoners as what it was designed to hold.
He added: “Prisoners sleeping on mattresses on floors is becoming an all too common sight again but yet our open centres remain below capacity.
"Prisoner numbers have continued to rise year on year from 3,745 in April 2017 to 3,890 in April 2018 and up again to 4,049 in April 2019.
“Taking one landing at the Midlands, initially designed to hold 38 prisoners, it regularly has prisoner numbers in excess of 65 and this is mirrored in many of the prisons”
Mr Power said he would raise the issue and called for swift action.
He explained: “None of us want a return to the ‘Pack em, Stack em and Rack em days’ of the past, where both prisoners and prison officers pay a heavy price.”
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