Sir, - I congratulate the Minister for Justice on the inclusion of a special separate remand facility at Wheatfield Prison in her reform package.
Mountjoy Prison currently houses remands for 19 out of our 26 counties (as many as loo to 150 remand offenders on any given day). A separate remand facility has been a long standing objective of the Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee, as emphasised in its 1993 and 1995 annual reports, and this Minister must be praised for implementing Ireland's national and international obligations in regard to rem and facilities.
This is a critical, brave step in the right direction, as reform of the prison system and realistic prison management could not begin without it. I now look forward to further courageous steps such as
1.The establishment of an adequate, separate drugs rehabilitation referral facility for prisoners. Without this move, undermining the drugs culture within our prisons cannot begin. The 90 space drugs free unit in the training unit prison adjacent to Mountjoy is a promising beginning.
2.The establishment of a National Prisons Board, independent of the Civil Service, to manage our prison system. This element of the Whitaker Report, recommended 11 years ago, has been avoided by successive Ministers for Justice. Yours, etc., Member of Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee, Malpas Place, Dublin 8.