EMILY LOGAN, THE new chief commissioner designate of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission says a “concrete timeline for ending the practice of “slopping out” in prisons needs to be established.

Speaking at a conference today, Logan said she was merely echoing the concerns of the
United Nations Human Rights Committee who recommended that the Irish Government step up its efforts to improve the living conditions and treatment of detainees.

Slopping out 

Recommendations included addressing the overcrowding and the practice of “slopping out” stating that this was a “matter of urgency”.

Logan said today that she would like to a timeline for the achievement of these recommendations.

She also said that she is concerned about the serious gaps in the current complaints and investigation mechanisms in places of detention in Ireland.

Logan welcomed the the introduction of a prisoner complaints model and the oversight of the mechanism by the Inspector of Prisons, stating that it was an “improvement” but said that the Commission noted that it does not provide a fully independent system for dealing with serious prisoner complaints.

There are a number of ongoing structural inadequacies within the penal system that the new commissioner said are subject of ongoing recommendations both by the Commission, as well as other international bodies.

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