Sinn Féin spokesperson for Justice, Pa Daly TD, has today expressed his concern at drug overdoses in Portlaoise Prison following reports that as many as 11 prisoners were treated for overdoses within the prison, and that three remain in a critical condition.

Teachta Daly said:

“With 11 prisoners hospitalised and three remaining in a critical condition, this situation is of great concern to all and I commend the prison officers and medical staff who acted swiftly to save lives.

“Unsafe prisons are a danger to all – they compromise safety of prisons and disrupt a regime which should work to rehabilitate criminals.

“The fact that this situation has arisen so soon after a serious attack on a prison officer should not be overlooked. There is a looming drug crisis within prisons in the state, and lives are at risk.

“The traumatic situation in Portlaoise Prison is another wake-up call for the extent of the problems and risks that exist in our prisons but the Minister cannot say she was not warned.

“When the Inspector of Prisons last year reported that conditions were at breaking point, action needed to be taken.

“Instead, overcrowding has persisted, with our prisons well over 100% capacity at all times.

“We need to see an independent complaints mechanism set up, legislation to allow for the use of x-rays and more action on short sentences through the use of restorative justice.

“The alternative is to continue to let prisons become universities of crime, where drugs flow freely, more lives are put at risk and where rehabilitation is not only not possible, but further paths into deprivation and criminality are created instead.”