Dóchas Centre in Dublin Female inmates in Ireland’s largest women’s prison, the Dóchas Centre in Dublin, are subjected to xenophobic and threatening abuse and suffer chronic overcrowding according to a chaplain’s report.
The 2018 report, seen by the Irish Examiner, was scathing of the conditions inmates face.
It alleges there is overcrowding, with between 130 and 150 inmates being regularly detained in a facility designed for 105.
Complaints were made to the chaplain from women about verbal abuse, xenophobic remarks, threatening language, and pointed “exclusion/favouritism of others”. It stated it was next to impossible for the women inmates to book family visits, including with their children and there was inadequate provision of clothing for women who do not own their own clothes
Culture
The report states that it is essential that a culture is fostered within the prison community whereby a vulnerable voice can be heard.
“The women are here as punishment; they are not here to be punished, and it is crucial that this awareness be at the forefront of our work, lest we leave prisoners further traumatised than when they arrived,” it states.