Minister to seek cabinet approval for prison closures

Justice Minister Michael McDowell is expected to seek cabinet approval today for his controversial plans to close two state prisons and remove two others from the control of the Prison Service.

Mr McDowell announced yesterday that he planned to close Spike Island in Cork and the Curragh detention centre in Co Kildare on January 1.

He also said that, from that date, the Irish Prison Service would no longer be in charge of managing Loughran House in Cavan and Shelton Abbey in Wicklow, two minimum-security jails.

The move is part of Mr McDowell’s efforts to reduce the cost of prison officers’ overtime and follows the breakdown of talks on the issue between the Prison Officers’ Association and the minister’s officials.

Mr McDowell said staff from the four prisons affected by his plans would be transferred to other prisons, thereby reducing the need for officers to work overtime.

The POA said yesterday that the minister’s plans were amazing at a time when the issue of gangland crime was dominating the headlines.

It also accused Mr McDowell of pursuing an agenda of prison closures and privatisation without consulting prison officers.

POA deputy general secretary Eugene Dennehy said his organisation had submitted a proposal last week that would have seen the annual €64m bill for prison officers’ overtime reduced by around €30m, but the Prison Service had refused to consider the offer.

Last April, Mr McDowell imposed a 90-day deadline for prison officers to reach agreement with the Prison Service on reducing the cost of overtime. He threatened to close down or privatise certain prisons if agreement was not reached.

Last month, POA members overwhelmingly rejected a Prison Service proposal that they agree to work 360 hours overtime every year in return for a €10,300 pay rise and a one-off payment of €12,250 payable over three years.