The State's first facility specifically for remand prisoners, together with an adjoining courts complex, has been opened at Cloverhill in west Dublin beside the existing Wheatfield Prison, which opened in the mid-1990s.
Cloverhill will hold up to 450 prisoners in single, double and treble cell accommodation depending on the length of time they are spending in prison awaiting trial.
Prisoners will be led from the jail through an underground tunnel to the new courthouse just outside the perimeter wall. The courthouse, which has rooms for District, Circuit and High Court proceedings, will open for the Michaelmas law term in October.
The first prisoners are expected to arrive at Cloverhill in the coming weeks. The complex was officially inaugurated yesterday by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue. He pointed out that it ended the remand role of Mountjoy, which has been the receiving centre for all prisoners arriving from courts for the past 150 years.
When Cloverhill is fully operational, with a staff of about 300 officers, it will also greatly reduce the need for the daily escorting of prisoners to court appearances. It is estimated that this will save the State more than £6 million a year in costs and overtime payments to guards.
Cloverhill is laid out in five two-storey blocks which include a special assessment unit. It is designed to maximise the amount of natural light. The complex is surrounded by a 23-foot concrete wall. The design is officially described as "effective yet unoppressive".
Prisoners will be provided with what the Department of Justice describes as a comprehensive range of support facilities, including education in life skills, computer skills, physical education, medical, counselling, library, chaplaincy and a range of indoor recreational activities. The assessment unit will house 50 prisoners who will undergo evaluation before being transferred to other prisons.
The completion of Cloverhill will be followed by the building of the new Midlands Prison, holding 515 inmates at Portlaoise.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust yesterday criticised the decision to have triple prisoner cells at Cloverhill, but prison sources said these would only be used for prisoners spending only a few days in custody before release. The majority of prisoners - those facing minor offences - passing through Cloverhill are likely to spend less than three days in custody before being released on bail.