The Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald, has announced the closure of the Separation Unit in Mountjoy Prison following a scathing report from the Inspector of Prisons recommending the permanent decommissioning of the Unit.
The Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly, issued a report on 23 July 2014, ‘An overview of Mountjoy Prison Campus with particular emphasis on the Separation Unit’. He noted that the main prison building of Mountjoy had been refurbished to a high level and assured that it was fit for purpose. He said that it would satisfy national and international standards. However, following a six-month investigation, he found that the Separation Unit bore no relation to the main building and the inspection team observed ‘a general air of neglect and decrepitude’ at the Unit. The report uncovered deficiencies, bad practice, overcrowding, lack of regimes and services which he considered unacceptable. The Inspector recommended that the Separation Unit should be removed from the Irish Prison Service Estate, and that the Unit be permanently closed and decommissioned.
Minister Fitzgerald confirmed the closure of the Separation Unit. The Irish Prison Service implemented a plan of phased closure as soon as they received the report. Relocation of the prisoners began immediately, with the final prisoners being transferred to alternative accommodation on 12 September.
The Irish Prison Service is currently implementing a programme of reform under its 3-Year Strategic Plan published in 2012. The Minister stated, “We have a responsibility to ensure that all persons committed to our custody are accommodated with dignity and respect and when conditions fall below the standards expected of a modern prison system swift action will be taken.”
Click here to read the press release from the Department of Justice.