POA claims €9m spent on 'assessing' boys' school

The Department of Justice has rejected a Prison Officers' Association (POA) claim that a special school for boys at St Patrick's Institution has been "long-fingered".

The POA raised the issue on the second day of its annual conference in Galway yesterday, when it said that up to €9 million had been spent by the Irish Prison Service on "assessing" the matter without "anything to show for it".

The POA's concern about the risk to members of contracting SARS from "illegal aliens" was also raised at the conference.

The special school was promised after the deaths of Garda Tony Tighe and Garda Mick Padden in April 2002, when a stolen car crashed into their patrol vehicle in Dublin.

A Department of Justice spokesman said yesterday a new wing had been built at St Patrick's Institution, and it would be open in the autumn.

The POA was particularly critical of an apparent change in the age group which would be assigned to the special school. It insisted that the school was to be built for 14 to 15-year-olds, but comments made by the Junior Minister with responsibility for children, Mr Brian Lenihan, indicated that the age group would now be 16 to 17 years.

"Prison officers have made a significant contribution to the rehabilitation of young offenders over the years, and want to be part of a service provision for those vulnerable young people. However, there appears to be a determination not to keep us informed," the POA president, Mr Gabriel Keaveny, said.

A Department of Justice spokesman said the final age range would be a decision for Government, but the original decision to build the new wing had made it clear that it would only assign 14- to 15-year-olds there as a last resort.

The Department of Justice is not responsible for offenders under 16 years.

Mr Keaveny said young people were "crying out for support and assistance within our detention centres", and prison officers were committed to this. "The fact that Shanganagh has been closed adds to the almost incredible deficiencies in this area."

POA members are also concerned about the threat of SARS. The association said it had sought information from the Irish Prison Service, "especially in regard to illegal aliens, who are taken directly from the airport to prisons on a daily basis".

Mr John Clinton, general secretary of the POA, said these prisoners interacted with large numbers of prison officers.

"We have asked the prison service to outline what measures have been taken to deal with the threat of SARS from this source - and we have not had the response."

Mr Clinton said that the association was calling on the Minister for Justice and the Irish Prison Service to assess the situation, and to introduce some form of screening.

"It is clear that SARS could spread very quickly if introduced to an institution such as a prison."