McDowell fails to get to grips with worsening conditions in jails

IN a memo sent to Justice Minister Michael McDowell last February, Mountjoy prison secretary John Ward outlined conditions in the prison.

“That any person would be held in such conditions is evidence of the complete and utter disregard that the prison service authorities have for the basic human rights of persons in custody”, he wrote, clearly making Mr McDowell aware of the need for serious action.

But we know only too well that things have to reach crisis levels before the minister takes action. Amid much fanfare, he announced last week that when the new prison was built, Mountjoy would be turned into housing complex for several hundred people.