Plans to close open prisons criticised as ‘rehabilitation disaster’

PLANS to close the State’s two remaining open prisons were criticised yesterday.

The Prison Officers' Association (POA) and the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) said the move would be a backward step.

"It would be a disaster from a rehabilitation point of view," said POA general secretary John Clinton. The closures are part of contingency plans by the Prison Service to shut four prisons to stay within budget if prison officers turn down an offer on overtime pay.