Concerns over second prison being built in Cork city

A Cork TD has raised concern about a second prison being built in Cork city, amid concerns about the mental health of people in custody in the current prison.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould raised the plans for a second prison in Cork in the Dáil last week. He said that when the current prison was being built alongside the old one, which closed in 2016, the people of The Glen “were given commitments… that the old prison would not be used as another prison and that it would be used for education, the community, and historical purposes".

Justice minister Jim O'Callaghan recently said the Government’s plans “remain at a very early stage”. They aim to add capacity for 230 men and 100 women in a new prison on the site of the old prison, to be built by 2031.

Mr Gould said: “How can the Government justify building a second prison in the middle of a residential area? It is wrong and a betrayal of the people of The Glen and the promises that were made.” 

Figures provided to The Echo by the Irish Prison Service, following a recent RTÉ Investigates documentary outlining the conditions faced by prisoners with mental health issues, show that six Cork inmates are awaiting transfer to the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin.

The Irish Prison Service recently published annual self-harm assessment and data analysis reports, which found that the rate of self-harm rose from a 2.6 per 100 prisoners in 2022 to 4.1 per 100, as overcrowding increased.

Cork Prison has been consistently overcrowded over this period. Capacity rose to 410 people in custody in the 296-bed facility on Friday, the highest figure ever recorded there.

Inspection report

A recently published inspection report into Cork Prison said that between January 2022 and March 2023, there were 23 incidents of self-harm in the facility.

The prison operates a standard operating procedure on assessment of suicide risk, which outlines guidelines on how to identify, assess, and manage prisoners at risk of or who have self-harmed. 

Inspectors said that on studying these documents, “it was not clear when, and to what extent, they were reviewed".

Nearly half of prison staff respondents said they did not feel adequately trained in suicide and self-harm prevention, while 38% did not consider efforts in the prison to prevent and manage risk of suicide to be effective.

Prison staff were also concerned about potential ligature points, (fixed objects or structural features that can be used to anchor a material for hanging or strangulation), in the vulnerable prisoner unit cellular accommodation.

Inspectors issued a recommendation to prison management on this issue, which had already been made in the previous inspection, but in an action plan published by the prison service, they said: “It is not possible to remove all potential ligature points from cells.

“Prisoners who are considered to pose a risk to themselves or who notify prison staff of any intention to self-harm are referred to appropriate services in the prison and may be placed on special monitoring. Prisoners placed on special monitoring may be relocated to special observation cells, which are designed to be ligature free.”