No 'super-prison', says Ó Snodaigh

Sinn Féin Justice spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh has called on the Government to drop its plan to build a super-prison at Thornton Hall.

Mr Ó Snodaigh was speaking in the Dáil today after a report from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture expressed concern about increasing levels of prisoner violence fuelled by the widespread availability of illegal drugs and the existence of a gang culture.

“The report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture which concluded that Irish prisons are unsafe for prisoners and prison staff is a shocking indictment of this government’s failed prison policy contained.

“The Government must immediately drop its plan to build a super-prison at Thornton Hall. Super-prisons, by virtue of their scale, are even more difficult to manage and hence will become more unsafe and more entrenched in gang culture.

"This in turn will mitigate successful rehabilitation and will in turn lead to increased crime through re-offending," said Mr Ó Snodaigh.