Inmate continues to be questioned over Cloverhill murder

Gardaí are continuing to question a man about the murder of a 43-year-old inmate at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin yesterday morning.

Martin Salinger, from Ballyfermot in Dublin, was found fatally injured in an overcrowded cell after prison officers responded to a disturbance in the early hours of yesterday morning.

An inmate, aged in his 30s, was arrested yesterday afternoon on suspicion of murder.

He is being detained at a west Dublin garda station and can be questioned for up to 24 hours.

The cell on the D wing, a security wing at Cloverhill Remand Prison, remains sealed off today following the death of the inmate.

Salinger had been attacked and was found dead by prison officers responding to a row in the cell at around 5.30am.

Three prisoners were in the two-man cell at the time and the other two were removed to different parts of the prison.

One was also injured during the attack and prison sources said the suspect in the case has been involved in a number of barricade and violent incidents at the prison and has had to be dealt with by specialist control and restraint teams.

Gardaí secured a section 42 warrant, which allows them to remove a person from a prison and bring them to a garda station for questioning.

Salinger was on remand in prison after he was arrested and charged two months ago in connection with drugs and firearms offences.

Gardaí had stopped a car in Ballyfermot and recovered a kilo of cannabis and a handgun.

Overcrowding concerns

The Prison Officers Association has said it has continually raised serious concerns about overcrowding in prisons and Cloverhill is one of the most overcrowded in the country.

The Prison Service said an investigation into the death in custody of Mr Salinger will also be carried out by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons, which will include the issue of overcrowding.

According to the official prison service figures, 522 inmates were in Cloverhill last Thursday, a prison with a bed capacity of 433, an overcrowding rate of 121%, one of the highest in the country.

The Prison Officers Association said it has consistently expressed concerns about the dangers of overcrowding.

It said it again raised these dangers for staff and inmates directly with the Minister for Justice at a meeting last month but claims no one seems to be listening.

In a statement, the minister said both she and the department are "very conscious of the challenges" placed on the prisons due to the increased prison population.

Helen McEntee said 150 additional spaces will be delivered this year and the capital budget for the IPS will increase by over 70% in 2025 as part of her plan to deliver over 1,000 extra spaces and hundreds of extra staff.

However, the prison officers say these promises were made at their last two conferences and the problem of overcrowding continues to get worse along with the accompanying dangers for staff and inmates.

The minister also said a Prison Overcrowding Response Group was established 14 months ago "to consider measures to address capacity issues" as well as the a new working group "which will make recommendations on the numbers and types of prison capacity needed out to 2035", including on Thornton Hall.

An initial report will be provided to the minister in November.