Chaplaincy provides a “safe space” for prisoners to share concerns and worries, an inspector’s report for Mountjoy Female Prison has shown.
The report also raised concerns about the fact that there was only one full-time chaplain available to the women.
“The women welcomed the support provided by chaplaincy,” according to the Inspection report from the oversight monitoring visit to Mountjoy Female Prison (Dóchas Centre) in Dublin during Covid-19.
“They saw it as a ‘safe space’ to share their concerns, worries and any issues they may have had in relation to the prison,” the report continued.
The service was availed of “as frequently as possible”, the inspector noted.
However, with one full-time chaplain available to the women, the inspector raised concerns that this was “very limited considering the volume of work within the prison”.
The service was augmented by a part-time volunteer, but they were unable to assist during Covid-19.
The inspection took place in 2020, but the report was only released at the end of January with certain parts redacted, having been submitted to the Department of Justice almost three years’ ago.
The report noted that the workload of chaplains increased during the pandemic as daily contact was being made with all of the women being cocooned or in isolation or quarantine.