The State has paid out almost €9m in compensation and legal fees to staff and prisoners due to assaults and "slopping out" practices - including €100,000 to two families whose relatives died from "self-inflicted" wounds. The figures have been given to TDs amid ongoing concerns over overcrowding and safety levels in jails. The figure includes €2.4m in compensation payments and €5.9m in associated legal fees - €2.7m of which relates to "slopping out" cases. A breakdown of the figures show:2014: €249,137 in compensation payments and €834,462 in legal fees2015: €468,059 in compensation payments and €660,577 in legal fees2016: €647,167 in compensation payments and €2,235,464 in legal fees2017: €492,126 in compensation payments and €999,887 in legal fees2018: €502,646 in compensation payments and €1,183,305 in legal feesIn addition to the pay-outs, Mr O'Driscoll also confirmed officials paid the families of two prisoners €50,000 and €51,737 in 2016 and 2017 respectively. In his letter, he said: "The payments were made to the families of prisoners who had died from self-inflicted injuries while in custody."

Source: Irish Examiner March 31, 2019 14:15 UTC