Northern Secretary Mr Paul Murphy appointed a panel yesterday to review prison safety at a jail housing republican and loyalist inmates in the same wings.
The three-man panel will review prison staff and inmates' concerns at Maghaberry Jail in Co Antrim.
In June eight prisoners - loyalist, republican and non-paramilitary - staged a rooftop protest at overcrowding in the high security complex near Lisburn.
Prisoners from the Real IRA have also staged a "dirty protest" in the jail, smearing excrement in their cells in a bid to secure segregation from loyalists.
Their supporters have warned the protest could escalate with a hunger strike.
In recent weeks, prison officers have received threats and have been forced to change their normal working patterns for fear of dissident republican attacks.
Mr Murphy announced that the former head of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Mr John Stelle, who retired from the Northern Ireland Office five years ago, would head up the review.
He will be joined by a former Catholic chaplain at the now empty Maze Prison, Father Kevin Donaghy, and by Church of Ireland Canon Barry Dodds who is based in the loyalist Shankill area of Belfast and was also a former prison chaplain.
The Northern Secretary said he was confident the review team would come forward with recommendations that would improve the safety of staff and inmates and inspire the confidence of their families.
Mr Murphy said he hoped "staff and prisoners alike" would take full advantage of the opportunity.
The move was welcomed by the Ulster Political Research Group which has links to the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association.