The head of the Irish Prison Service (IPS) sought an urgent meeting with justice officials after warning overcrowded jails could not cope with large groups of immigration detainees being held before charter deportation flights.
Internal records show the warning was issued after more than a dozen South African women were held at the Dóchas Centre for over a fortnight at a time the jail was already operating at 151 percent capacity.
At the same time, the IPS had to accommodate an extra 19 deportees in Dublin’s Cloverhill Prison, where 34 other inmates were already sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
The correspondence was sent in February, with the Director General of the IPS, Caron McCaffrey, saying the system simply did “not have the ability to cope.”
The IPS had initially refused to release the records and only did so following an appeal under Freedom of Information laws.
Ms McCaffrey’s message said: “We have 14 women being lodged in the Dóchas and to be kept for over two weeks pending deportation.
“The prison is already beyond its limits in terms of numbers – we have 221 women with a capacity for 146 and are operating at 151 percent.”
Ms McCaffrey said it was a similar story at the country’s main remand prison where 19 men were to be held ahead of a deportation operation to South Africa in late February.
The message continued: “In terms of Cloverhill, there are 19 deportees to be accommodated … as you know we have 469 in custody today with a capacity of 433 and 34 men on the floor.”
She said a meeting was needed to discuss the implications of holding “large groups of immigration detainees” in already overcrowded prisons.
The documents also reveal how little notice was being given to the Irish Prison Service about the arrival of deportees.
An internal message said: “For your information – 33 South African nationals arrested by An Garda Síochána today. 14 being lodged in Dóchas as we speak. 19 to go to Cloverhill. They will be removed on 28 February.”
A response said: “For your information. Removal date on 28 February. Discretion advised on removal date.”
An hour later, Ms McCaffrey wrote to the Department of Justice with her warning that the Irish Prison Service was not able to cope.
On the day before the €585,000 deportation flight to South Africa, there were more than 6,600 people in the Irish prison system.
That included 554 people left sleeping on mattresses – including 43 in the Dóchas women’s prison.
A further 602 people were on temporary release, of whom 118 were on temporary release from the Dóchas Centre.
Overall, the prison service was operating at 123 percent of its capacity, according to daily data published by the IPS.