A VIRTUAL TOUR of Midlands Prison which aims to inform and reduce anxiety among incoming prisoners and their visitors will be unveiled today.

The first-of-its-kind digital tour walks the user through what it is like to enter the prison as an incoming inmate and a visitor.

It uses 360 degree images to create a virtual recreation of the facility, with interactive buttons to move around and get more information.

Image of the prison processing centre at Midlands Prison used in the virtual tour. Irish Prison Service Irish Prison Service

Real CCTV footage from Midlands Prison and audio records of what it sounds like to be in an Irish prison are played throughout the tour.

The entire experience is understood to be as close as possible to what is it like to be processed as a prisoner or attend a monitored visit at an Irish prison.

Irish Prison Service (IPS) management hope that the introduction of the online tool will allow people who are set to be housed in Irish prisons can familiarise themselves with the services and resources available to them while in custody.

CCTV recordings of the yard at Midlands Prison is included to show incoming prisoners how others use the area. Irish Prison Service Irish Prison Service

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan announced the new initiative at Wheatfield Prison in Dublin this morning. He also announced a new recruitment drive for prison officers. 

• You can check out the tour for yourself, here.

While the IPS hopes that the virtual tour will inform incoming inmates of the resources available to them while in prison, there are large waiting lists for addiction and counselling services once inside.

Speaking today, O’Callaghan welcomed the virtual tour and claimed that it would improve the public’s understanding of how prisons work.

“It can also serve as a positive recruitment tool to provide those contemplating a career as a prison officer with the ability to tour their future workplace,” he added.

A virtual prison officer standing at the visitors' entrance of Midlands Prison, as seen in the tour. Irish Prison Service Irish Prison Service

There are currently 2,000 people on the waiting list for psychology services in Irish prisons, director general Caron McCaffery told The Journal this year. The service has capacity to provide care to 600 prisoners at one time.

A new system of peer-led addiction counselling programmes is set to be introduced to assist with these waiting lists. 

Asked about these waiting lists today, O’Callaghan told The Journal: “Very many people in prisons do have issues that require medical attention, whether they’re addiction issues or indeed psychological or mental health issues.

“I’m pleased to learn that there are over 50 psychologists working within the prison system now. That has increased quite significantly over the past number of years.

“But listen, as the population in prisons increase, so is the necessity for having greater medical attention for people. The need for that will also increase,” he added. 

The new recruitment drive is seeking to employ 300 people into full-time roles in the Irish Prison Service.