A total of 177 serving prison officers in the North are to leave the service at the end of this month. It is understood the move is the first step in the projected redundancies of 1,100 prison officers overall in light of the emptying of the North's prisons following the ceasefire.
It is believed the Maze Prison will be closed totally within two years. This first phase of prison officers to accept redundancy involves staff mainly between the ages of 50 to 65.
