KENNY WELCOMES CLOSURE OF OUTDATED AND OBSOLETE SEPARATION UNIT AT MOUNTJOY PRISON

Posted on September 15, 2014 1:07 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Justice Committee has welcomed confirmation by the Minister for Justice that the seperation unit at Mountjoy Prison was closed this past Friday.

"I am very pleased to have confirmation from the Minister for Justice that this unit has finally closed. I was very concerned to read a report on Mountjoy Prison written in July by the Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, that emphasised the dreadful state of the Separation Unit. The report was very clear that this unit suffered from bad practices, as well as being overcrowded, and had a lack of services that were simply not in keeping with the rest of Mountjoy Prison."

"I understand that the Irish Prison Service, to their credit, put plans in place as soon as this report was published, to close the Separation Unit as soon as possible. I understand that prisoners placed in this unit were moved on a phased basis in July, with the last prisoners leaving this past Friday, 12th of September and this has been confirmed to me by Minister Fitzgerald."

"I do think it is worth commenting on the positive aspects of the report that was published in July. The Inspector, Mr. Justice Reilly, stated that the refurbishment of the main building of the original Mountjoy Prison has been carried out to an extremely high standard and would meet the standards set by international and indeed national authorities in ensuring that Mountjoy is a modern prison and fit for purpose. The Inspector also said the time available to prisoners to spend outside of their cells are of the right nature for the various different categories of prisoner."

"This Government and the Justice Committee on which I serve, are determined to see that Irish prisons are of the highest standards. There is a responsibility to ensure that all those in custody are accommodated with dignity and respect, and that action will be taken if standards should fall below the bar that has been set."