Six Cork prisoners were forced to sleep on mattresses

According to the Irish Examiner, six prisoners had been placed on mattresses on three occasions, with five prisoners having to sleep on mattresses for two nights.

An IPS spokesperson said: “The Irish Prison Service can confirm that on the night of the 27 February last one person was sleeping on a mattress on a floor in Cork Prison, on the 28 February and the 1 March five persons were required to sleep on a mattress on the floor.”

The spokesperson added: “The Prison Service must take all persons committed by the courts and does not have the option to refuse to take committals, regardless of available spaces.”

The IPS said some prisoners had since be transferred to other institutions and there were “no further occurrences”.

According to its figures, there were 291 inmates as of 28 February 2017 and 291 inmates as of 1 March 2017.

The €44 million Cork Prison building, which opened last February, has a maximum capacity of 296.

Fíona Ní Chinnéide, acting executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, yesterday told Irish Legal News that there are “worrying reports of over-crowding at the new Cork Prison facility”.

She said: “Crowded prisons are unsafe for staff and prisoners, and do not contribute to public safety in the longer term.”