"Scheme clears the way for replacement of Mountjoy Prison, contracting out of prisoner escort service, and video conferencing of pre-trial hearings."
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Michael McDowell T.D., today published a General Scheme of a Prisons Bill 2004 to achieve three specific objectives.
First, it will provide a statutory basis for contracting out the prisoner escort service. This is one of several contingency measures approved by Government in the event that agreement cannot be reached with the Prison Officers Association on a sustainable cost structure for the operation of prisons and prison-related activities.
Second, it will enable the holding of pre-trial hearings through videoconferencing. This will reduce the security risks and costs associated with multiple transfers of prisoners, particularly remand prisoners, between prison and court for pre-trial hearings. A committee established by the Minister to examine the potential of videoconferencing to enhance the conduct of trials, and chaired by Mrs. Justice Susan Denham of the Supreme Court, has advised the Minister that it is clear to it that videoconferencing technology is an essential part of an efficient and effective modern court system, and the provision in the General Scheme is based on work already undertaken by the committee. The committee is due to report within weeks with detailed recommendations specifically on videoconferencing in pre-trial hearings, and account will be taken of this during the drafting of this Bill.
Third, the Bill will remove a purely technical statutory impediment in the Prisons Act 1933 to the closure of Mountjoy Prison. This is necessary because the Minister has secured Government approval in principle for his proposal to close the Mountjoy Prison Complex and replace it with a new prison facility on a greenfield site in or near the Dublin area. The Minister said: "I have inspected the conditions in Mountjoy Prison and I have come to the clear view that it falls so far short of the requirements of a modern prison, and the needs of prisoners and staff, that replacement of the prison complex, rather than refurbishment of the existing facilities, is the best way forward." The Minister said he is strengthened in this view by reports on Mountjoy from both the Prison Board and the Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention, and by strong and consistent criticism of the existing facilities by a committee of the Council of Europe and other organisations concerned with the welfare of prisoners. The Minister has asked the Director General of the Prison Service to make an immediate start on planning for the new prison facility. Legislation based on the General Scheme of the Bill will now be urgently drafted for presentation to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Links:
Prisons Bill 2004 |
