Teachers oppose State plan for prison closures

THE jails earmarked for closure or transfer out of the prison system are the most progressive in the State and have the highest rates of inmates on education programmes, teachers working in the facilities said yesterday.

Concerns have also been raised about the transfer from the Curragh of dozens of the country's sex offenders. The majority of approximately 90 inmates held in the Kildare prison have been convicted of sex offences.

Educators and prison reformers were stunned to hear of the plans to close Spike Island in Cork and the Curragh in Kildare despite persistent rumours over the last number of months the two facilities were the most likely to face the cut if no agreement was reached between management and employees over the crippling 64 million overtime bill.