Opportunity for TDs to Revise Flawed Prison Plans Must be Seized, says Jesuit Centre

 News Release

 27 May 2008

A Motion that will be introduced to the Dail today ( Tuesday 27 May 2008) provides a significant opportunity for TDs  to influence the shape of the country’s largest ever prison development, the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice has said. In an appeal to Orieachtas members, the Centre called on them to radically revise what it sees as the seriously flawed plans for Thornton Hall Prison, which is to replace the Mountjoy Prison complex.

While the Motion refers to a whole range issues relating to the new prison, including road access, water supply, preservation of trees and hedgerows on the site, it makes no mention of any element affecting the conditions under which the prisoners to be held there will be detained, according to the Centre.

Fr Tony O’Riordan SJ, Director of the Centre, said: “The wording of this Motion is just the latest example of the Government’s failure to facilitate a real debate about both the purpose of the new prison and the physical and rehabilitative facilities that are to be included in the new complex”. 

He pointed out that the new prison will be the largest prison development ever undertaken in the history of the State:  it will be capable of holding a total of 2,200 men, women and children. “The scale of the development is evident when we recall that the total current prison population, housed in a total of fourteen different prisons around the country, is about  3,350 and the official capacity of the Mountjoy Prison complex is 855”, said Fr O’Riordan. He added: “Thornton Hall is not just a development to replace Mountjoy Prison: it is a means by which the capacity of the country’s main prison can be increased by more than 150 per cent.” 

Two filing cabinets full of objections:

He pointed out that despite the implications of the Thornton Hall development for the future shape of penal policy, and the huge capital and current costs entailed by such an expansion in prison numbers, there has been a glaring lack of consultation in relation to the plans for the new prison. No public discussion document, or Green Paper, was issued by the Government in advance of the decision to relocate Mountjoy Prison.

To date, the only opportunity afforded to interested organisations and members of the public to express their views was through making a submission in response to the Environmental Impact Study. Individuals and organisations made a total of 130 submissions – enough, as the Rapporter himself pointed out, to fill two four-drawer filing cabinets.  The main points raised in the submissions have been summarised by the Rapporteur and have been published. However, the Government has given no indication that it intends to respond to any of the concerns raised.

Fr O’Riordan asks: “Is the Government really going to leave these  submissions, which raise legitimate concerns and contain many constructive proposals, lying unheeded in filing cabinets, so that they have no impact whatsoever on the planning of the new prison?”

He said that in the view of the Jesuit Centre the key changes that need to be made to the current plans include:

• The Government should27  give a commitment that no child will be detained in Thornton Hall: the proposal to include a facility to be used ‘on an interim basis’ for young people aged sixteen and seventeen should therefore be abandoned;
• The women’s prison, the Dochas Centre, should not be moved to Thornton Hall but should be left in its present city-centre location which carries many advantages in terms of facilitating visitors to the prison and enabling access to support services; 
• The Training Unit for pre-release prisoners should likewise be left in its present location, which facilitates access to training and employment opportunities;
• The plan to significantly increase the number of places in the prison for male offenders should be reviewed as part of an overall policy to radically increase the use of non-custodial sentences for non-violent offenders; 
• The proposed large-scale facilities for male prisoners should be, as far as possible,replaced by small units providing a full range of facilities in self-contained areas which would offer a better chance of providing a safe and rehabilitative environment for prisoners;
• The proposals should include provision a closed drug treatment unit for those offenders with drug problems who cannot be appropriately treated in community-based facilities.

For further information contact:

Fr Tony O’Riordan SJ, Director, Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, 26 Upper Sherrard Street, Dublin 1.

Tel: 087 928 6945; 01 8556814 (office)
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.jcfj.ie