Almost €5,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent on make-up and hair products for beauty courses at the Dochas Centre women’s prison last year.
Figures obtained under Freedom of Information show €4,792 was spent on products used to teach inmates how to do salon treatments and hairdressing. The salon – named Head and Shoulders after star pupils Scissor Sisters Linda and Charlotte Mulhall – teaches manicures, facials and how to apply makeup.
Spending shows €4,940 spent on hair products and just €32.50 last year was spent on make-up. The small amount of cosmetics was “to purchase some beauty products needed to supplement the ones that were there.”
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The prison runs a 10-week course in hairdressing for up to seven women at a time in everything from blow-drying treatments to hair colouring. Last year’s overall figure is just over half of the €8,505 which was spent in 2019, before Covid-19 resulted in tighter restrictions.
While €6,592 was spent in 2018 – €3,384 more than what was spent in 2017. According to a source, the beauty and hair course is very popular among prisoners who then practise what they have learned on other inmates.
The source said: “It’s one of the most popular modules and inmates love it as they learn to apply make-up and do treatments like facials and how to style hair. If someone has a court appearance, prisoners doing the course have been known to do their make-up and hair before going.
“A number of inmates who do the course use it as a stepping stone for when they are released to pursue a career in the beauty industry.” Scissor Sister Charlotte Mulhall was moved to Limerick Prison last year after she was allegedly found giving a beauty treatment to a female prison officer while sitting on her lap.
She is serving a life sentence for the gruesome murder of Farah Swaleh Noor in 2005, whose dismembered remains were found in the Royal Canal.
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