THE Department of Justice said prisoners who face chronically overcrowded cells in Irish jails should not be eligible for compensation payments, despite a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on conditions behind bars.

Two prisoners who were forced to endure inhumane conditions for several
years at a Polish jail were recently awarded €6,500 in compensation at the court, sparking concerns of a similar flood of claims in ­Ireland.

However, the Department of Justice said the cases were "particular" to the Polish system and did not apply in
Ireland, where overcrowding was a recent phenomenon.

The department also said the planned development of Thornton Hall in north Co Dublin, along with the introduction of additional capacity this year, would help improve conditions in Irish jails.

The two Polish inmates had been serving lengthy sentences and had made repeated complaints about the conditions of their detention at prisons where occupancy regularly exceeded 100%.

On a number of occasions, the two men were held in cells shared with other prisoners with less than the 3sq m of living space, which they were – under law – entitled to.

The European Court said it had been established beyond any doubt the men's cells had been overcrowded and they didn't have enough room.

The problem had been compounded by lack of exercise, lack of privacy, unhygienic conditions and regular transfers between different jails.

The court said the prisons had exceeded the unavoidable level of suffering, which was part and parcel of detention in prison.

It also said in cases like this, the conditions forced on prisoners could constitute "inhuman and degrading treatment".

Chronic overcrowding exists in a number of Irish prisons and authorities have been forced to dramatically increase the numbers on temporary release to cope with it.

Mountjoy, which has a design capacity of 450, regularly holds more than 670 prisoners in dilapidated conditions without in-cell sanitation.

In a high-profile murder case at the jail, inmate Gary Douche was murdered in the basement of the prison in a cell shared with six others.

The Department of Justice said it was fully aware of the recent cases in Poland and that compensation of €3,000 and €3,500 had been awarded.