A NEW high security unit at Wheatfield Prison in Dublin is to be opened in six weeks time to house violent prisoners from across the State.
The move follows the recent crisis at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin during which four prison officers were taken hostage in the separation unit by a number of prisoners. At a meeting with the Prison Officers Association (POA) yesterday, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, also confirmed that the building of a new segregation unit at Portlaoise Prison was under "active consideration".
The new high security unit is to adapted from an existing 16 person unit in Wheatfield and will be completely self contained. The decision on which prisoners will be housed in the new unit will be based on a risk assessment procedure which is understood to be already in place in prisons.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said the new unit was a response to the recent hostage crisis and to the fact that the number of "violent or dangerous" prisoners was increasing. It is not known precisely how many prisoners the new unit will hold.
The Minister's announcement has been welcomed by the POA. Its spokesman, Mr Tom Hoare, said the meeting with the Minister had been arranged "because of our concern regarding the safety of our members in relation to the recent crisis in Mountjoy.
"The new unit in Wheatfield is a significant measure which together with the existing high security unit in Cork will go some way to addressing the very real problem of staff safety in our prisons. Mr Hoare estimated that approximately 100 prisoners around the country required high security accommodation.
The Department confirmed that work is also going on to revamp the separation unit in Mountjoy, which is currently closed.
The issue of drugs in prisons was also raised at yesterday's meeting with the Minister. The POA put forward proposals aimed at dealing with the problem in Mountjoy, including the introduction of specially trained sniffer dogs and X ray equipment.