Prisoner transport is set to be privatised and several detention centres closed after members of the Irish Prison Officers' Association (IPOA) rejected new proposals on officers' overtime today.
A solution to the long-running dispute over moves to cut prison officers' overtime - much of which is accrued on prisoner escort duty - is to be imposed by the Irish Prison Service, the Minister of Justice Michael McDowell said today.
"I have heard the rejection loud and clear. The members of the POA were told in no uncertain terms by me what the consequences of rejection would be," the Minister said this afternoon.
He then announced a series of cost-cutting measures would begin immediately including: privatisation of the prisoner escort service; permanent closure of the Curragh and Fort Mitchel detention centres; outsourcing the running of open centres at Loughan House and Shelton Abbey and their conversion to post-release centres.
Officers at these facilities will be transferred to other prisons on a permanent basis, under the Minster's plan.
"I am calling in the director general of the Prison Service and the prison governors in the coming days to inform them that, with effect from May 2 nd, 2005, spending in each prison will be managed on a strict cash basis with monthly limits and that staffing levels will have to conform to those limits," Mr McDowell said
The roll-out of new technology such CCTV, automated gates and video links will begin "as a matter of priority", he added.
He noted the proposals brokered through agreed Labour Relations mechanisms had been rejected by the prison officers despite being endorsed by the POA executive.
Mr McDowell said he was determined to end "the scourge of overtime which reached 60 million in 2003".
"The public expect me to act decisively and that is exactly what I will do."