€1bn to provide 21st-century prison service

Long-term Government funding will deliver a prison system fit for the 21st century, it was claimed today.

The National Development Plan earmarked €1.017bn over the next seven years for the detention and rehabilitation of the state’s prisoners.

The Irish Prison Service is currently replacing nearly 40% of its prisons, including the four units on the Mountjoy campus, Cork Prison and Spike Island.

The Prison Service said the NDP funding will be focused on meeting the needs of prisoners in custody, addressing their offending behaviour and supporting them in establishing crime-free lives after they are released.

Director general Brian Purcell said: “This funding will enable the Prison Service to develop modern rehabilitative facilities for prisoners.

“As well as delivering the infrastructure, the plan is also providing for the significant enhancement of services to prisoners.

“The funding provided by the National Development Plan will allow us to develop a prison system fit for the 21st century.”

The four prisons on the Mountjoy campus – Mountjoy, Training Unit, Dochas Centre and St Patrick’s Institution – are being replaced by a super prison at Thornton Hall in north Co Dublin.

NDP funding will create a prisoner-centred, multidisciplinary approach to working with prisoners including initial assessment, goal setting and periodic reviews to measure progress.

Enhanced programmes within prisons will help increase employability for inmates, promote pro-social attitudes and address offending behaviour.