Review of super prison plans a welcome move

AS a resident living close to Thornton Hall I am delighted with the Government’s commitment to review the proposal to build a new prison at Thornton Hall.

I hope that at last there will be public debate, in-depth analysis and consultation on the need for this development.

For six years we (the residents) have protested that the proposal to build a super prison at Thornton is wrong, socially, environmentally, and morally.

In the past six years leading experts in very diverse fields have all spoken out against this project.

Prison inspectors, prison chaplains, criminal academics, The Irish Penal Reform Trust, prison officers, probation officers and Fingal County councillors; prison governors are all on record denouncing the Thornton project.

We (the residents) have always believed that the decision to replace Mountjoy with a greenfield site was propelled by the massive potential windfall for developers. And now at last there is an opportunity for a public debate regarding the future of our prison system. Maybe now we can decide if we want less crime or just bigger prisons?

Teresa McDonnell

Kilsallaghan

Co Dublin