Press Release: Justice  7 August 2006

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7 August 2006

Green Party says McDowell fails on Prison Reform

- Calls Minister to explain why two thirds of Prison Inspectorate's Recommendations not implemented

The Green Party has called on the Minister for Justice McDowell TD to explain why two thirds of the recommendations in a report on Mountjoy Prison have not been implemented. The recommendations are contained within the Irish Prisons Inspectorate Report on their revisit to Mountjoy Prison that took place in January 2005.

The recommendations ranged for pest control to the provision of medical services, but only 8 of the 23 of the recommendations had been implemented in the two years since the Prison had last received a full inspection.

Green Party Justice Spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD stated:
"Last week's killing of Gary Douch has as much to do with the wilful neglect of our Prison system by Minister McDowell as it has with criminal behaviour.

"Under the current Minister for Justice, the Prison system has suffered significant cutbacks. Only one third of the recommendations made in a crucial report on Mountjoy have been implemented. The CONNECT Project to improve the future job prospects of prisoners in Mountjoy Jail and its Training Unit has suffered from lack of funding and other programmes have been curtailed.

"The Minister's proposal to improve the Prison system is to build a massive new prison complex miles away from prisoners' families and friends in Fingal. This flawed proposal will exacerbate the difficulties faced by inmates, many of whom are from Dublin's Inner City.

"In recent years the Minister has closed Coláiste Chiarán in South Dublin, Spike Island in Cork and the Curragh prison in Kildare, increasing over-crowding throughout the prison system. This appears to have been done for reasons more to do with facing up to the Irish Prison Officers Association, than any realistic assessment of the resources.

"The Minister is also refusing to implement internationally accepted norms to provide clean needles in prison to reduce the risk of H.I.V. infection.

"The budgetary controls placed upon the management of the prison have
resulted in major cutbacks in the services to prisoners such as the part closure
of the workshops, the disbandment of the CONNECT Project in the
main prison, the withdrawal of visits on Wednesdays and the curtailment of
other programmes.

"Meanwhile the Minister is delaying the publication of the Fourth Annual Report of the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention which ought to have been published last month."