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12/12/2007
MPs Urge End Of Segregation As New NI Gaol Is Planned
Rival paramilitary factions should not be housed in separate prison wings any longer.
Members of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster have acknowledged that, while a certain degree of controlled movement was still needed, the current segregated regime was hampering education and recreation opportunities for some prisoners.
The committee also said the government must take immediate action to improve prison buildings which are in a bad state of repair.
While an announcement on a new £200m jail is expected next week, the MPs are set to back plans for a completely new gaol to be located near the existing facility at Magilligan, near Coleraine.
They said that rebuilding on the site would "capitalise on the accumulated experience and many areas of good practice there".
Another kind of 'segregation' has however been given the thumbs up, with the MPs seeking a prison solely for women too, and adding that "further investment in short-term solutions at the shared Hydebank Wood site – near Belfast - is not an adequate response to this issue".
Welcoming the report, NIO Prisons Minister, Paul Goggins said a review of services for female offenders was already underway with a report due next summer.
"I thank the committee sincerely for their efforts in producing this report - I will give it due consideration and make a full response within the next two months," he said.
The committee also made a number of additional recommendations and welcomed the transfer of responsibility for prison healthcare to the health service, and urged the government and MLAs to ensure this process is completed soon.
The committee also said that the high proportion of remand prisoners "represents another unjustifiable burden" and called for a review of why the criminal justice process is so slow in Northern Ireland.
(BMcC/KMcA)
Members of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster have acknowledged that, while a certain degree of controlled movement was still needed, the current segregated regime was hampering education and recreation opportunities for some prisoners.
The committee also said the government must take immediate action to improve prison buildings which are in a bad state of repair.
While an announcement on a new £200m jail is expected next week, the MPs are set to back plans for a completely new gaol to be located near the existing facility at Magilligan, near Coleraine.
They said that rebuilding on the site would "capitalise on the accumulated experience and many areas of good practice there".
Another kind of 'segregation' has however been given the thumbs up, with the MPs seeking a prison solely for women too, and adding that "further investment in short-term solutions at the shared Hydebank Wood site – near Belfast - is not an adequate response to this issue".
Welcoming the report, NIO Prisons Minister, Paul Goggins said a review of services for female offenders was already underway with a report due next summer.
"I thank the committee sincerely for their efforts in producing this report - I will give it due consideration and make a full response within the next two months," he said.
The committee also made a number of additional recommendations and welcomed the transfer of responsibility for prison healthcare to the health service, and urged the government and MLAs to ensure this process is completed soon.
The committee also said that the high proportion of remand prisoners "represents another unjustifiable burden" and called for a review of why the criminal justice process is so slow in Northern Ireland.
(BMcC/KMcA)
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