Governor welcomes jail demolition call

The Governor of Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Mr John Lonergan, has welcomed a call for the jail to be demolished.

He was responding to the inaugural report of Mr Justice Dermot Kinlen, the State's first Inspector of Prisons and Places of Detention, which concluded that both Mountjoy and Portlaoise prisons should be demolished because of their "unacceptable" condition.

Mr Lonergan pointed out that a multi-disciplinary committee, of which he had been a member, made a similar recommendation where Mountjoy was concerned two years ago.

He also said the prison had provided "total co-operation" where Mr Justice Kinlen was concerned.

In his report, the inspector criticised both the Department of Justice and the Prison Service for being "slow to provide any information" to him.

A spokesman for the Department said yesterday it was not responding to the criticisms at this time and, from a policy issue point of view, would give the inspector's report "careful consideration". A spokesman for the Prison Service said it was too early to give a measured response to the report, which was published on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the Prison Officers Association said it had no comment to make at the moment on the report, which was also critical of what it saw as over-staffing in the Prison Service.

Mr Lonergan felt, however, that a replacement prison for Mountjoy should be built on the same site, which was a very central location. It was his conviction that prisons should be integrated into society rather than built at a distance.

He also felt that, as it had been in Phibsborough since before that became a built-up area, Mountjoy had gained a level of acceptance which might be difficult to achieve in a green-field situation.

But it was a 153-year-old building, which made it almost impossible for staff to meet all the hygiene, training and educational demands of a modern prison service, he said.

They were "restricted by the building" and it was no surprise there could be evidence of mice and cockroaches being present, he said. In the circumstances, what staff achieved was "brilliant".

He concurred with the inspector's criticisms of after-release services, saying they repeated what he had been "saying for years".

They were "nonexistent," he said, and should be "of concern to all".