Cork's EU Commissioner says prisoners' dignity must be protected amid over-crowding issues

Ireland’s EU commissioner has said the rights and dignity of prisoners must be protected and supported at all times.

Micheal McGrath, European commissioner for democracy, justice and rule of law, was commenting on the most recent report from the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).

The report found that overcrowding in Irish prisons remains a “chronic issue”, with prisoners sometimes forced to live in “squalid conditions”.

The CPT report did not specifically instance Cork Prison, which regularly exceeds its capacity of 296, and which yesterday held 387 prisoners, meaning it was operating at 131% capacity, with 85 prisoners sleeping on the floor.

Mr McGrath said it was an issue for Ireland’s national authorities to decide how best to address prisoner overcrowding.

“I know here in Ireland, there are a lot of efforts being made to extend prison capacity, and building of new facilities, and that will lead to an improvement in prisoner conditions,” he said.

Mr McGrath said investment in good prison conditions showed a clear benefit to society, “even though it may be a difficult one to sell publicly”.

“We do have to uphold human dignity in all settings, and we do have to invest in people who have made mistakes, but who may see a path back to making a positive contribution to society,” he said.

“That’s in everyone’s interest that we do that.”