THE new crime package announced by the Minister for Justice is aimed at increasing the prison population by about 10 per cent over the next 18 months.
The package adds 240 new prison places and restores 38 recently damaged ones to the existing 2,174, by shuffling existing accommodation, refurbishing some prisons and bringing others into use for the first time.
The most significant measure announced yesterday is the use of the military detention unit at the Curragh for 50 civilian offenders. Ms Owen also announced that, work on a new women's prison at Mountjoy is to recommence, although she warned that a review of its costs will be necessary.
She said a total of 278 prison places will be provided by the new prisons programme. However, this includes restoring 38 places damaged recently by a fire at Mountjoy. Meanwhile 25 republican prisoners are to be moved from Portlaoise to new accommodation at Castlerea, Co Roscommon.
The total number of new spaces 240 is about 30 higher than the number sought by the Minister when she first proposed an increase in prison spaces in June of last year.
The June plan was rejected by the Government at the time. But yesterday Ms Owen was able to say she had the "overwhelming support" of the Cabinet for her latest proposals.
The Minister said yesterday she had found a way ... to get prison places now when I need them". The programme is funded from £14.5 million provided in the Estimates for prison building and refurbishment, and an extra £3.7 million allocated to prisons in last week's Budget.
The main elements of the programme are
. Castlerea 25 prisoners to be accommodated, when a "secured area" within the prison building there is ready.
. Portlaoise the 25 republican prisoners there are to be moved to Castlerea, freeing their cells and others which had to be kept empty as part of the segregation of the prison, adding a total of about 80 new places.
. Curragh 50 places for civilians to be provided at the military detention unit. The unit had previously been examined by Department of Justice officials and can be opened with "only a very small amount of money spent on it".
. Mountjoy 38 places damaged by fire to be returned to use, 30 places in St Patrick's Institution (attached to Mountjoy) to be freed for use by young male offenders, by the decision to proceed with a new women's prison, to house 60 offenders.
The Minister said £400,000 has been set aside for planning work on the new women's prison, which will be built "subject to a review of the total costs including the provision of ancillary facilities".
. Limerick a new "D" wing will provide an extra 55 places.
Ms Owen said that of the 278 places involved, 110 would be provided within three months, a total of 198 within seven months, 223 within a year and the rest within a year and a half.
She pointed out that there had been 10,000 prison committals in 1995, compared to 5,500 10 years ago. "The changing face of Irish Life brought into stark focus by "the recent tragic deaths and vicious attacks requires measures such as these as well as a wider response from the community and all agencies of the State."
The Minister said she had no jurisdiction over how often judges imposed custodial sentences, but there had been only 698 community service orders imposed in 1985 compared to about 1,600 last year.
Ms Owen said her package was "a very good result" of the review she initiated last year, after the Government rejected the previous plan. She said the new measures would ensure there were prisoners in Castlerea this year instead of in 1997.
According to Ms Owen there d'are 500 prisoners on temporary release from prison at any one time, including prisoners granted release to attend funerals, hospitals or educational courses.
Asked the extent to which the new prisons package would reduce the number on temporary release, the Minister replied "It's hard to say exactly how much". But she added that "we will be cable to ensure that very serious "offenders will not be able to get full time temporary release".
"It is a reality that if people get sentences in the courts people expect them to serve those sentences," she said.
The Prison Officers Association spokesman, Mr Tom Hoare, said the officers would "not put any arbitrary obstacles" in the way of the new programme.
He said the association was "extremely disappointed" that no firm dates or finance had been arranged for the completion of the Castlerea project, and while the association welcomed the addition of some new prison places, more needed to be done "to reflect the seriousness of the situation".
In addition to the package announced yesterday Ms Owen said the new drugs free unit" planned for Mountjoy would be opened in March. This unit is for prisoners who say they do not want to use drugs and agree to urine testing.
The following month, the Minister said, Mountjoy's new drug treatment facility will open, offering detoxification and methadone maintenance programmes.