The Prison Officers' Association (POA) has expressed disappointment at the Government's publication yesterday of a Bill providing for the privatisation of prison escorts.
The association's president, Gabriel Keaveney, said the Bill had been published by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell despite POA proposals made on Thursday to try to break the impasse in overtime pay talks.
He said Mr McDowell should work with the POA in trying to reach agreement on annualised hours rather than pressing ahead with his proposals to achieve savings by closing prisons and privatising escorts.
"Privatisation will inevitably mean dealing with major union blocs, such as Siptu, and this in itself will present many challenges as workers' rights are legitimately enforced."
Privatisation "looks great in paper" but had not worked well in other jurisdictions. The prison system dealt with some of the most vulnerable people and should not be run "on the cheap".
Mr Keaveney was speaking at the closing of the POA's conference in Castlebar, Co Mayo.
He described as "ludicrous" proposals to place the running of two open prisons - Loughan House, Co Cavan, and Shelton Abbey, Co Wicklow - outside of the remit of the prison service. Only prison officers had the know-how to run these.
"The safety of staff, the safety of inmates and, indeed, the safety of the local people living in close proximity to an open centre, and the years of experience gained by prison officers working at these open centres, cannot at the stroke of a pen be handed over to some other agency."
As well as planning to transform the two open prisons into halfway houses staffed by civilian workers, Mr McDowell had already closed Shanganagh Castle, Dublin, Fort Mitchell, Co Cork, and the Curragh Place of Detention, Co Kildare, and he was planning to privatise prison escorts. If he continued in a "dictatorial fashion" to cut costs he may achieve his goal in the short-term, but at a cost to the State.
"This serious reduction in prison spaces will inevitably lead to increased overcrowding, worsening of conditions within the remaining prisons and a return to the revolving door syndrome," Mr Keaveney said.
At a time when the Government was trying to achieve €25 million in annual savings across the prison system a €10 million facility for young offenders at St Patrick's Institution, Dublin, was empty despite having been completed three years ago.
Mr McDowell yesterday said he would consider new proposals from the POA aimed at resolving the near two-year dispute relating to overtime pay in the prison service.
He said the POA would need to put in writing plans for the redistribution of overtime which it agreed at the conference.
Under the POA's compromise agreement, at least 10 per cent of prison officers would be allowed to work no overtime. Other officers who want to do more hours would work their colleagues' overtime hours.