McDowell calls time on courts and prison facilities

The Minister for Justice has expressed a desire to close two of the country's oldest prisons and develop a new criminal courts complex in Dublin.

Minister Michael McDowell says the country's courthouses are in a chaotic mess and his plans will save money in the long term.

A replacement facility for Mountjoy, where prisoners still have to slop out every morning, could be funded by a €70m sale of its Dublin inner city site.

A new facility is also planned for Spike Island to replace Cork Prison, which dates from the 19th century.

The Minister also believes the courts should be upgraded. He says hearing criminal cases at four different locations in the capital is a security nightmare.

He wants to transfer criminal hearings from the Four Courts, the Richmond, the Bridewell and Dolphin house to a central site in the north inner city.

It is thought that such a move would cut €25m from the annual overtime bill for prison officers.