Phase out prison smoking, says boss
Mr Aylward said an overnight ban will be very difficult to enforce, particularly as prisoners remain in their cell 14-hours a day.
But despite ongoing talks between the Department of Health and the prison officers , a spokesperson for the department said there was no possibility that prisons would be exempted from the workplace smoking ban.
Mr Aylward also warned that prisons may be privatised and the smaller ones sold off if agreement is not reached over eliminating the 60 million overtime bill.
Mr Aylward's threats come just days before new practices in prisons are meant to be introduced a deadline laid down by the justice minister nearly four months ago.
The Prison Officers' Association described Mr Aylward's comments as "bully boy tactics" and "unhelpful and provocative".
The association and management are still involved in negotiations over new working arrangements. Both sides have called in professional negotiators.
The latest flare up follows a meeting on Tuesday when Mr Aylward raised the possibility of closures. Yesterday, he confirmed privatisation was also a possibility.
"I told them I could not exclude options like privatization where we failed to come to an agreement," said Mr Aylward.
Time is running out, he added. "We are in injury time. I really hope we can do the business," said the prisons' director general. He revealed that the money allocated for pay has now run out and that the service was dipping in to the capital budget.
Nearly four months ago, Justice Minister Michael McDowell told the POA annual conference that officers had 90 days to come to an agreement and that new work practices aimed at slashing overtime would be introduced at the start of September. This is now not going to happen, both sides agree.
A new package was drawn up by the prison service and passed by the Department of Finance. The package, which included lump sum payments and an annualised hours system, was rejected by prison officers.
The POA insist talks are continuing and president Gabriel Keaveney said he was disappointed at what he described as the "bully boy tactics" of the director general.
