Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for attending.

This matter has been of concern to me for many years. When I was a law student in Trinity College, I was taken by my lecturer at the time, Senator Bacik, to visit Mountjoy Prison. I was stunned and appalled by the archaic and inhumane conditions in the prison. At the time, there was much discussion on the need to relocate. The Thornton Hall option became live and it was expected that the prison in Mountjoy would be relocated in the relatively near future.

When I was studying in Kings Inns, I was taken again to Mountjoy as part of my course. Far from having improved, conditions had deteriorated. They could only be described as appalling and grotesque for any human being, irrespective of what crime one had committed.

I have been contacted by members of the prison visiting committee. Nobody could turn a blind eye to some of the reports contained in national newspapers over an extended period in respect of the living conditions and the security issues that arise in regard to the unsuitability of Mountjoy as a modern prison. Let me outline some stark and illuminating headlines. In July 2009, a headline referred to €40,000 damages being awarded to a prisoner assaulted with a blade in Mountjoy. A headline in the Irish Independent in June 2009 asked whether the Mountjoy crisis would ever end. In June 2009 The Irish Times contained a headline stating, "Mountjoy inmates being forced to sleep in showers". Also this year The Irish Times contained a headline stating "Prison reform long overdue". This is a theme in all the national newspapers.

The theme is raised consistently by those associated with and who work in the prison. Mr. John Lonnergan, the longest-serving and most vocal campaigner, for whom I have immense respect, has done considerable work to draw attention to the plight of prisoners in Mountjoy and the appalling conditions to which they are subjected. The prison has been described as cockroach-infested. The list goes on and the conditions that exist are nothing short of degrading. The practices in the prison are clearly inappropriate. I refer to sleeping on floors in overcrowded cells, in the reception and shower areas, special observation cells and other unsuitable areas. Other inappropriate practices include sleeping on cell floors infested with cockroaches, mice, ants and other assorted vermin.

There is 23-hour lock-up for those on protection, with just one hour per day to socialise with other inmates. Even this is in a confined, bleak outdoor yard. Daily bodily functions must be performed while locked up in cells. Slopping out when the doors are reopened still occurs in 2009. This takes place regardless of the number of prisoners in each cell. There can be up to five prisoners in a cell at any one time. Prisoners must eat all their meals in the confined cell area where they sleep and slop out. It is really disgusting and inhumane.

I assure the Minister of State I am no bleeding heart and take a very tough approach to crime but I believe that, at this point in 2009, it is time that the Government dealt with this issue so prisoners can serve their time in prison with some dignity.

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