IPRT slams McDowell’s planned prison restructuring
The Irish Penal Reform Trust has slammed plans by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to press ahead with his proposed reform of Ireland's prison system.
Mr McDowell said yesterday that he intended to permanently close two prisons at the Curragh and Spike Island, privatise the prison escort service and contract out the running of two other prisons - Loughan House and Shelton Abbey - to the private sector.
He also suggested that the two new "super-prisons" he is planning to establish in Dublin and Cork may be built and operated by private businessmen.
The move is the minister's response to a decision by prison officers to reject a new pay deal designed to reduce the huge overtime bill incurred by the Prison Service annually.
Responding to the Minister's plans today, the IPRT said international experience had shown that privatising prison services did not lead to a reduction in costs.
The trust said it believed that Mr McDowell was manufacturing a dispute with the Prison Officers Association in order to push through an ideologically driven restructuring programme.
