Curragh Prison Accommodation
The Minister said the Curragh remains necessary to separate persistently disruptive prisoners because ordinary prisons lack suitable accommodation; he clarified that separation, not rehabilitation facilities, was its distinguishing provision.
asked the Minister for Justice if, in view of the improvement in availability of accommodation in prisons and the increase in prison staff, he will consider under subsection (3) section 2 of the Prisons Act, 1972 dispensing with temporary accommodation for civilian prisoners in the Curragh Military Detention Centre.
Comment on this
The civil prison system has not got sufficient accommodation to enable what at any one time is a relatively small number of prisoners who are a special problem by reason of their persistently bad behaviour to be accommodated in separation from other prisoners, on whom they are a bad influence. Until that accommodation becomes available, there will continue to be a need to use the Curragh.
